Sam Walker
Old paper banknotes potentially worth hundreds of pounds could be lurking in your wallet.
Paper £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes are no longer legal tender after being withdrawn and replaced with polymer versions.
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- 108 million £5 notes worth £542 million
- 59 million £10 notes worth £589 million
- 154 million £20 notes worth £3.08 billion
- 43 million £50 notes worth £2.13 billion
Are paper notes still legal tender in the UK?
Paper notes are no longer accepted as payment. £5 and £10 paper banknotes ceased to be legal tender in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Paper £20 and £50 denominations have not been usable since 2022.
What is legal tender?
According to the Bank of England, the term “legal tender” means that if you offer to fully pay off a debt to someone in a form considered to be legal tender – without any contract specifying another form of payment – you cannot be sued by anyone for failing to repay the debt.
In simple terms, it’s the officially recognised money by law that works as a means to settle a debt or meet a financial obligation. It tends to be the national currency of a country, per Investopedia.
What counts as legal tender in the UK?
If you live in England and Wales, then Royal Mint coins and Bank of England notes are considered legal tender.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, Royal Mint coins are accepted as legal tender – but not the English banknotes. Both Celtic nations have their own banknotes, issued in the two countries by authorised banks.
As for coins, it’s slightly complicated. For instance, 1p and 2p coins count as legal tender for any amount up to 20p, while 5p and 10p coins are for any amount up to £5. £1 and £2 coins are acceptable for any amount.
You will also find that most of the common payment methods, like debit or credit cards, contactless payments, or paying by cheque, are not legal tender. We look at how to pay with a cheque in a separate guide.
Where can I exchange old banknotes?
There are various places where you can take old paper notes. Depending on where you live, some locations may be easier to access than others.
Banknotes with the late Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender, so you don’t need to exchange them for new ones featuring King Charles III.
Any old paper notes you hand in are exchanged for new polymer ones of the same value.
The Bank of England
One option is to take the old paper notes to the Bank of England.
There is currently no time limit when it comes to exchanging them at the central bank. However, you may need to present an original photo ID and proof of address when exchanging notes.
You can do this in two ways:
- In-person: You can swap your old notes at The Bank of England Counter, on Threadneedle Street, London. The counter is open between 9:30am and 3pm on weekdays (excluding bank holidays). Do be aware – even though the last entry is at 2:45pm, you may not be served if it has reached capacity after midday.
- By post: You can also post your old UK banknotes to the Bank, but note that this is done at your own risk and you may want to insure yourself against loss before sending banknotes in the post. You’ll also need to fill in a postal exchange form and send photocopies of your proof of ID and proof of address.
Post Office
There are 53 Post Office branches across the UK that will let you swap your old banknotes for new polymer ones – even if you don’t have a bank account.
You can exchange up to the value of £300 every two years. You will need to show a form of photo ID so the Post Office can keep track of how much you exchange and do not exceed the limit.
These are the notes you can exchange at a Post Office:
- Elizabeth Fry £5 note – ceased to be legal tender on 5 May 2017
- Adam Smith £20 note – ceased to be legal tender on 30 September 2022
- Charles Darwin £10 note – ceased to be legal tender on 1 March 2018
- Matthew Boulton & James Watt £50 note – ceased to be legal tender on 30 September 2022
Find all the participating Post Office branches where you can exchange old notes.
At the bank
Different banks have their own rules in place covering how they handle paper banknotes. While some are happy to exchange them for new polymer notes, others are not.
Banks that let you exchange paper notes will generally allow you to deposit the money into your account with them. Banks and building societies happy to exchange the old notes include Halifax, Lloyds, Nationwide, Barclays, NatWest and Santander.
In some cases, you can still exchange the paper notes even if you don’t have an account with that particular bank, for example, with the Bank of Scotland and Virgin Money.
Can I sell old notes online?
You may find that some of your old notes sell for more than their face value if they are part of special limited runs.
Meanwhile, old paper banknotes with specific serial numbers are sought after by collectors because they’re some of the earliest of that style printed.
Every banknote features a unique serial number to identify and date it with a four-digit prefix.
Those with serial numbers featuring low numbers are generally valuable, for example “CA 01”, followed by a low figure like 000001.
This rule also applies to new polymer notes. Auctioneers Spink and Son held auctions last summer selling some of the earliest printed new King Charles III banknotes with these low serial numbers. One £10 note went for £17,000 while a £20 note sold for £7k.
If you have a collectable note, you don't necessarily have to sell it via auction though. You can sell it online on platforms like eBay or Facebook Marketplace.
However, just because notes are listed as rare on online marketplaces doesn’t mean they are worth that much money. The price of rare notes is determined entirely by the market, and a sale is contingent on finding a willing buyer.
If you think you’ve got a rare banknote, you might want to get it valued by an auctioneer.
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