# Old-style £5 notes no longer legal tender from 21 November

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2003/11/08/oldstyle-5-notes-no-longer-legal-tender-21-november/
- Published: 2003-11-08T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The £5 notes with an image of George Stephenson on the reverse will cease to be
legal tender after 21 November 2003.**

The notes will therefore not be of much use to charities if dropped into a collecting
tin. Museums, cathedrals and any charity with static collecting boxes should examine
them soon to check if there are any of these old £5 notes inside.

The Bank of England encourages people to pay them into a back account or exchange
them for other notes by 21 November 2003.

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After that date, most banks, building societies and Post Offices will continue to
accept them, but for a limited period.

If you do find yourself in possession of such notes after that date, you can always
exchange them at the Bank of England at any time in the future. However, you can’t
simply turn up there without an appointment.

 

![The Opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825 by J.R. Brown (1850-1918)](
https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2021/06/1600px-Stockton__Darlington_Railway_Brown_via_Getty_Images-
1024x660.jpg)

The Opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825 by J.R. Brown_ (1850-1918),
Draughtsman/Illustrator [Public domain], [via Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AStockton_%26_Darlington_Railway_(Brown_via_Getty_Images).jpg)_

 
The Bank of England states that there are over 211 million £5 notes in circulation,
of which around 43 million are Stephenson notes. The Stephenson £5 note was first
issued on 7 June 1990.

The new design £5 banknote, featuring Elizabeth Fry on the reverse, was first issued
on 21 May 2002. It incorporates three new security features – a foil hologram, an
ultraviolet feature and micro-lettering.

You can find a [list of all withdrawn banknotes](http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/withdrawn/default.aspx)
at the Bank of England.
 

 * **[Variations on Elgar notes](https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/03/09/variations-elgar-notes/)**(
   9 March 2010)
 * **[New design £50 note introduced](https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/11/02/new-design-50-note-introduced/)**(
   2 November 2011)
 * **[Bank of England consults on introducing plastic bank notes](https://fundraising.co.uk/2013/09/11/bank-of-england-consults-introducing-plastic-bank-notes/)**(
   11 September 2013)