J Q Hollom Portrait £5 B297 Unc

We are delighted to offer choice examples of the J B Page Portrait £10 issued in 1971(B326) The fronts have a youthful portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with a lion astride the back trailing a ribbon from its mouth. Choice examples of the last Portrait £10 before it was replaced a mere 4 years later in 1975.

Known by collectors as the Britannia Blue, this £5 replaced the iconic Bank of England White £5 in 1957. It is one of the most impressive designs of the whole Bank of England series. It had a very short life because, in 1960, the Bank started to introduce notes with the Queen’s portrait for the first time and this series was never completed. A helmeted Britannia is on the front and a lion holding a key is on the back. An iconic note in its own right and available now in A Unc.

During the Second World War, the Bank of England did away with all denominations above £5 in an attempt to thwart counterfeiters. It wasn’t until 1964, when J Q Hollom was Chief Cashier, that the Bank reintroduced the £10 denomination into circulation. These new £10 notes followed the Portrait series with a youthful portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the front with a lion trailing a ribbon in its mouth and holding a two-sided key in its paws on the back. This remained the highest denomination until 1970 and was issued under three different Chief Cashiers. We recently purchased a run of these first Portrait £10 notes with J Q Hollom’s signature (B299) They have seen no circulation and grade Crisp Good Extremely Fine. Lovely examples of the first Portrait £10 note in GEF.