Exact date on which the first banknotes featuring King Charles will come into circulation

BANKnotes featuring King Charles will soon be in circulation.

The King's portrait will appear on existing designs of the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes.

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On June 5 this year, banknotes with a portrait of the King will be issued for the first time.

His Majesty's portrait will appear on the existing designs of all four banknotes, without any further changes to the banknotes.

Banknotes bearing the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II remain legal tender and will continue to circulate alongside the banknotes of King Charles III.

The new banknotes will only replace the worn-out banknotes and meet the general increase in demand.

The Bank of England has said: “The public will see King Charles III's new banknotes very gradually.”

The public will be able to exchange a limited value of current or old series banknotes for new King Charles III banknotes through the Bank of England from June 5 for a short time.

Further information on this will be provided by the Bank of England closer to the issue date.

The current series of banknotes features the following characters in the designs: Winston Churchill (£5), Jane Austen (£10), JMW Turner (£20) and Alan Turing (£50).

Although the notes entering circulation on June 5 will feature a new portrait of the monarch, the back of each note will remain unchanged.

The new banknotes featuring King Charles' portrait were first unveiled in December last year.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said at the time: 'I am very proud that the Bank is releasing the design of our new banknotes, which will feature a portrait of King Charles III.

This is an important moment

“This is an important moment as The King is only the second monarch to appear on our banknotes.”

When Queen Elizabeth II came to power, coins bearing the image of her father, George VI, remained in circulation for almost twenty years after his death.

They were eventually removed when decimalization was introduced in 1971.

But after one monarch dies and another monarch lines up to take his place, that means a whole host of other things have to change.

Coins with the new King came into circulation at the beginning of December 2023.

The 50p has officially entered circulation and is available at post offices across the UK.

In keeping with tradition, the King's portrait faces to the left – in the opposite direction of the deceased Queen.

On the new 50 cent coin featuring King Charles III, the Monarch is not wearing a crown.

This is because kings are not often depicted on coins wearing a crown, although Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II did have one.

All British coins bearing the image of Queen Elizabeth II remain legal tender and remain in active circulation.

They will be replaced over time as they become damaged or worn and to meet the demand for additional coins, just like banknotes.

Historically, coins with different monarchs have co-circulated, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal environmental impact and costs.

How to spot rare coins and banknotes that could be worth hundreds

Rare coins and banknotes hidden at the back of your sofa can be sold for hundreds of euros.

If you are lucky enough to find a rare €10 note, you may be able to sell it for several times its face value.

You can recognize rare notes by looking at the serial numbers.

These numbers are found on the side with the Monarch's face, just below the £10 denomination in the corner of the banknote.

Even if you have a serial number on your note that is quite quirky, you can cash in thousands of euros.

For example, one seller pocketed £3,600 after finding a specific serial number on one of their banknotes relating to the year Jane Austen was born.

You can check if your notes are worth anything on eBay, just check 'completed and sold items' and filter by the highest value.

It gives you an idea of ​​what people are willing to pay for some banknotes.

But keep in mind that yours is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.

This is also the case for coins, you can determine how rare your coin is by looking at the most recent scarcity index.

The next step is to look at what has sold on eBay recently.

Experts at Change Checker recommend looking at “sold listings” to ensure the coin sold for the specified amount rather than just sitting on the exchange.

People can list things for whatever price they want, but that doesn't mean it will sell for that amount.

We further explain how to find out if you have a rare coin worth thousands at home.