Bank of England says redesigned £20 'most secure' note yet

Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The Bank of England unveiled its new-look £20 banknote Thursday, which it said includes security features to make it more difficult to counterfeit.

The British central bank showed off the synthetic polymer bill, which will enter circulation in February.

The note features Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and 19th century Romantic painter Joseph Mallord William Turner on the reverse. The current bill also has the queen on the front, but features historical economist Adam Smith on the back. Turner is the first artist to appear on a pound note.

The bank said security features that include two windows, a metallic hologram and two-color foil make the bill the "most secure Bank of England banknote yet." It's also the first bill showing the signature of the bank's chief cashier, presently Sarah John.

"The new £20 is an important part of our commitment to providing banknotes that people can use with confidence," John said. "Our polymer notes are much harder to counterfeit and, with the £20 being our most common note, this marks a big step forward in our fight against counterfeiting."

Redesigns to the £10 and £5 notes also now produce them from polymer.

The £20 is Britain's most used and most copied bill, accounting for nearly 90 percent of forgeries in the first half of 2019.

The Bank of England said it will gradually phase out the current £20 bills, which were introduced in 2007.