Bank Suspends New £5 Notes
The Bank of England suspends distribution of the new £5 note amid complaints that the serial numbers on them can be rubbed off.

May 27, 2002

The Bank of England has suspended distribution of the new £5 note, less than a week after its launch, amid complaints that serial numbers can be rubbed off.

It has received about six complaints from members of the public saying the number could be easily erased.

A spokesman for the Bank said the notes had been rigorously tested before being first issued last Tuesday.

And he said the serial numbers were not a key security feature but merely gave information about the note's origin.

Before their issue, the new notes were described by the Bank of England's chief cashier Merlyn Lowther as "the most secure five pound note we have ever produced."

The Bank's inquiry was prompted by about half a dozen calls but it did not initially suspend distribution of the new notes.

Insurance broker Steve Hedges, 24, of Formby, Liverpool, told the Daily Mirror the number wiped off in his hands.

He said: "At first the number smudged, then it vanished. There was no ink left on my hands."

The Bank spokesman said an urgent investigation had been launched.

He added: "We did undertake extensive tests before the notes were launched and had no reason to believe there would be any problems."

Those who raised the concerns were told to exchange the notes at a local bank.

The new notes are the same size and colour as the existing note but have extra security features, including a hologram.

The spokesman said: "This is just the serial number which gives you a unique number for the note and tells us when and where it was printed.

"It is not one of the key security features on the new note."

The notes were made at the Bank's printing works in Debden, Essex, and are supposed to have a longer life span than the current "fivers", which last on average less than one year.

Victorian prison reformer Elizabeth Fry appears on the new note and becomes only the second woman to appear on the back of an English banknote.

Nurse Florence Nightingale has already appeared on the £10 note.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_2010000/2010738.stm