The new banknote marks a shift away from the current paper notes because it is being printed on polymer – a thin, plastic film.
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The Churchill fiver will replace the current £5 note featuring prison reformer Elizabeth Fry.
According to the Bank of England, the new bank notes will be both more durable and harder to counterfeit, but will be prone to sticking together at first.
The notes will also feature a picture of Big Ben showing three o’clock – the approximate time when, on 13 May 1940, Churchill told the commons: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”.
“It is cleaner, safer, and stronger”, Governor Mark Carney said at Blenheim Palace, Churchill’s birthplace in Oxfordshire, England.
BoE officials said Thursday the unveiling of the Churchill fiver formed part of the central bank’s switch to polymer banknotes to end 320 years of paper money. “This spirit is just one of his many contributions that the bank commemorates with the new fiver”.
Almost 22,000 notes had to be replaced past year: 10,000 because they were torn, five thousand because they had been chewed or eaten, and 1800 because they had been washed.
Some 44 million of the notes will be released in September, followed by plastic versions of other notes.
Victoria Cleland, the Bank’s chief cashier, said: “They are more modern and I think they’re attractive”. “Polymer notes can survive a splash of Claret, a flick of cigar ash, the nip of a bulldog, and even a spin in the washing machine afterwards to boot”, Cairney added. “However, we’re not encouraging people to do that”.
News in 2013 that she would be replaced with the former prime minister sparked an outcry as it meant that, apart from the Queen, there would be no female figures on British banknotes.
A new plastic 10-pound note featuring the author of “Pride and Prejudice”, Jane Austen, will appear in 2017 and 19th century artist J.M.W. Turner, most famous for his seascapes, is due to feature on a plastic 20-pound note from 2020.
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“By adopting polymer, we’re aligning with global best practice, alongside Australia, New Zealand and Canada”, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in a statement.
