What are the UK's new polymer banknotes and who is on them?
Latest news email updates straight to your inbox Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  The Bank of England's release of the new 50 note, featuring the image of mathematician Alan Turing, means all four values currently in circulation in the UK are now available in polymer. The values, or denominations, are 5, 10, 20 and 50. The notes replace the old paper ones, which will no longer be legal tender from September 30, 2022. People with paper notes are advised by the Bank of England to spend them or deposit them at their bank ahead of this date. The UK has switched to plastic banknotes as they are more robust and harder to counterfeit  featuring "advanced security features" including translucent windows and holograms that change image when viewed from different angles. They began to be circulated from 2016, beginning with the 5 note. 5  Sir Winston Churchill  (Image: PA)  Issued on September 13 2016, the new 5 note was the UK's first polymer note in circulation. The historical figure on the back of the note, replacing prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, is Sir Winston Churchill. His biography on the Bank of England's website reads: "Sir Winston Churchill was one of the greatest statesmen of all time and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940-1945 and 1951-1955. "Churchill was also a writer and an artist and is the only Prime Minister to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1953." Included in the note's design are images of Westminster, the Nobel Prize medal and a quote from Churchill's first House of Commons speech: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat". 10  Jane Austen  (Image: AP)  The new 10 note was released on September 14 2017. Featured on the reverse is Jane Austen, replacing naturalist Charles Darwin. The Bank of England's biography of Austen reads: "Jane Austen was an English novelist who, using wit and social observation, provided astute insights into 19th-century life, often praising the virtues of reason and intelligence and highlighting some of the barriers that society erected against the progression of women. "Her books have been translated into over 40 languages of which there have been countless film and television adaptations. "Jane began to write when she was just 11 years old, and by the age of 23 she had already drafted early versions of some of her most famous novels, including Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. "All of Janes work was published anonymously so, despite the fact her work was generally well received and even became fashionable in some circles, she achieved little recognition until after her death." Artwork on the note includes images of Godmersham Park House, Austen's brother's estate, and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. The quote, "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading", was said by Miss Bingley in Pride and Prejudice. 20  JMW Turner  (Image: PA)  The polymer 20 note was released into circulation last year on February 20. The historical figure on the back of the note is JMW Turner, who replaces Scottish economist Adam Smith. Turner was an English Romantic painter who lived from 1775 to 1851. His works  including watercolours, oils and engravings  were shaped by his interest in brilliant colours and light. He became known, therefore, as 'the painter of light'. One of his most famous paintings, The Fighting Temeraire, is featured in the artwork on the note, as is his self-portrait from c.1799. The quote on the banknote is "Light is therefore colour", from a lecture he gave in 1818. 50  Alan Turing  (Image: PA)  The new 50 note has been released today, Wednesday June 23, 2021. Featured on the reverse is Alan Turing, replacing entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt on the paper version. His biography on the Bank of England's website reads: "Alan Turing provided the theoretical underpinnings for the modern computer. "While best known for his work devising code-breaking machines during WWII, Turing played a pivotal role in the development of early computers first at the National Physical Laboratory and later at the University of Manchester. "He set the foundations for work on artificial intelligence by considering the question of whether machines could think. "Turing was homosexual and was posthumously pardoned by the Queen having been convicted of gross indecency for his relationship with a man. "His legacy continues to have an impact on both science and society today." Relevant artwork in the design includes mathematical formulae from Turing's seminal 1936 paper, his birth date in binary and technical drawings of the Bombe, his codebreaking machine that took down Enigma. The quote on the note is, "This is only a foretaste of what is to come and only the shadow of what is going to be", from an interview he gave to The Times in 1949. The old paper notes cease to be legal tender on September 30, 2022.