U.K.’s New £10 Note Gets a Fresh Face: Jane Austen
The £5 bill includes a see-through security window featuring an image of the queen
that changes color when the bill is tilted, a hologram that changes from “five” to “pounds” when moved, and the numeral 5 when the bill is placed under ultraviolet light.
The first £10 note, an ancestor to the Austen bill, came in 1759 as the country grappled with a shortage of gold resulting from the Seven Years’ War.
“This added strength means notes will remain in good condition for longer, with a life span at least two and a half times
that of paper notes,” Mr. Carney said of the £10 note on Tuesday, in a speech at Winchester Cathedral in southern England, where Austen is buried.
The polymer bill, worth about $13 at current exchange rates, will join its cousin, the £5
note featuring former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, which was introduced last year.
