Who should be on the new bank notes?
I was reading about the new Bank of England bank notes today. You may recall (or actually you may not know) that a new series of bank notes with pictures of British wildlife is on its way to our wallets and purses, pockets and piggy banks.
The Bank of England explains that it does issue a new series of banknotes from time to time, to make sure they remain secure. (Their You Tube channel has info on how to check bank notes, in case you're wondering.) The new series incorporates the latest security features, and that helps prevent counterfeits and keeps our money safe. This new series will continue to incorporate features so that blind and partially sighted people can identify their value.
At the moment, historical figures feature on the various bank notes, including Sir Winston Churchill, writer Jane Austen, JMW Turner and Alan Turing. And soon they will be replaced by pictures of beautiful British wildlife.
The public spoke back in 2025. Nature won the day!
Back in 2025, the Bank of England asked the public which theme we – the public – would like them to use on the next series of bank notes. Nature received the highest proportion of nominations – and the most support in the commissioned focus groups. And a lot of the feedback referred to images of our native wildlife – showing how important our wildlife is to us.
Architecture and landmarks came second (a very soulless choice, if you ask me), followed by notable historical figures which took third place.
As well as featuring wildlife, other elements from nature such as plants and landscapes will form secondary parts of the design such as the background. And of course, a portrait of the monarch will still be included on the bank notes.
So the question is, which wildlife will go on the bank notes?
Well, the Bank of England wants us all to let them know what we think. Which wildlife should adorn the British bank notes?
The Bank worked with a panel of experts to come up with the shortlist – you can see who they are here – and they’ve all come up with a list in three different groupings, namely a) mammals, b) birds and c) amphibians, insects and fish. The Bank doesn’t want any alternative nominations (which has not pleased Larry the Number 10 Downing Street Cat).
Have your say !
You can choose up to two animals from each category before 11:59pm BST on Friday 3 July 2026. Find out which animals have been picked for each category here. I have no idea who I will pick, in part because I don’t want to offend any of the animals on the list that I haven’t chosen.
Give the Bank of England your choices and you never know, you may see your chosen animals looking at you on your bank notes!!
One miffed cat...
Of course, there’s someone who does think they should be featuring on a bank note, and that’s the infamous Larry, the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet who resides at Number 10 Downing Street, and who is currently on his 6th Prime Minister. The fabulous Britclip has put a great video together about it. Larry can’t be nominated, domestic pets don’t count in the survey, and nominations are closed anyway, but Larry has his own views about that, bless him, as you’ll see if you watch the video.
The beautiful photo at the top of the page is by Amee Fairbank-Brown on Unsplash. Thank you, Amee!
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