UK new £50 banknote

Bank of England announce UK new £50 banknote will be in circulation starting on 2 November 2011. The new-style £50 note will feature the renowned 18th century business partnership of entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt. The banknote will be the second in the Series F ‘family’ which began with the introduction of the Adam Smith £20 note in 2007. It will be the first time two portraits have appeared together on the reverse of a Bank of England banknote.

A range of new and enhanced security features have been incorporated into the design of the Boulton and Watt £50 banknote. Full details of these will be revealed when the new banknote is introduced into circulation. This banknote will be the first in circulation to be signed by Chris Salmon, who was appointed as the Bank’s Executive Director – Banking Services and Chief Cashier in April 2011.

Boulton was a leading entrepreneur of the Industrial Revolution. On leaving school he worked in his father's buckle-making factory in Birmingham, which he later inherited. He was particularly enthused by the development of steam engines and the minting of coins. Watt was involved in several civil engineering projects during his life, including a survey and estimate in 1773 for a canal between Fort William and Inverness. The Caledonian Canal was constructed in the early 19th century.

In 1775 Boulton went into partnership with Watt, whose improvements to steam engine design had led to greater efficiency and cheaper running costs. The pair pioneered the use of the steam engine in the cotton spinning industry. Boulton established the Soho Mint, which produced high-quality coinage using steam-driven machinery.