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Each year, we publish how many of our banknotes are in circulation and how much they are worth. We say the number of notes we issue and destroy, the number of counterfeits found, and how many claims we get for damaged notes. And we compare the data with previous years.
Use the icon on the top right hand corner of the charts to download data. You can toggle data series on and off.
Notes in circulation
The total value of our notes in circulation has tended to increase over time with growth driven in recent years by the £20 and £50 note. We measure the value of notes in circulation on the last day in February each year.
The value of banknotes in circulation (£ millions)
£5
£10
£20
£50
Total1
Other notes2
2014
1540
7182
36483
11025
56230
3967
2015
1601
7371
38912
11788
59671
4118
2016
1645
7767
41037
13157
63606
4212
2017
1912
8006
43357
15601
68876
4322
2018
1910
7789
42692
16508
68899
4351
2019
1979
10524
40129
17210
69841
4330
2020
2068
13377
37143
17574
70161
4261
2021
2034
15405
44742
17850
80031
4661
1 Total is the sum of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes excluding all other notes. See below. 2 Higher value notes used as cover for the note issues of banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The volume of banknotes in circulation (millions)
£5
£10
£20
£50
Total1
2014
308
718
1824
221
3071
2015
320
737
1946
236
3239
2016
329
777
2052
263
3421
2017
382
801
2168
312
3663
2018
382
779
2135
330
3626
2019
396
1052
2006
344
3799
2020
414
1338
1857
351
3960
2021
407
1541
2237
357
4541
1 Total is the sum of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes excluding all other notes.
Growth in the value of our notes in circulation
The two main ways to measure yearly growth of notes in circulation (NIC) are:
Peak-to-peak, which measures the difference between the peak levels of NIC (usually leading up to Christmas) each year.
Average year-on-year, which measures the difference between the average level of NIC each year.
The charts below show how peak-to-peak and average growth have varied for each of our notes, and overall, over the past decade.
Peak to peak banknote growth rate
Peak-to-peak measures the difference between the peak level of notes in circulation each year (usually in the run up to Christmas).
Average banknote growth rate
Average year-on-year measures the difference between the average level of notes in circulation each year.
Value of banknotes issued (£ millions)
Each year we issue new banknotes to replace unfit ones and to meet any increases in overall demand. The value of each denomination issued are shown in the table below.
£5
£10
£20
£50
Total
2013/14
793
2141
5281
2260
10474
2014/15
869
2433
6202
2165
11668
2015/16
977
5683
5056
1831
13547
2016/17
1643
4008
6382
3188
15220
2017/18
386
8192
3291
2169
14039
2018/19
154
3568
1211
1616
6549
2019/20
229
2993
5323
370
8915
2020/21
58
2866
30627
146
33697
Value of banknotes destroyed (£ millions)
Each year we destroy banknotes that have become unfit for use. The value of each denomination destroyed are shown in the table below.
£5
£10
£20
£50
Total
2013/14
927
2811
3821
1874
9432
2014/15
1001
2351
3848
1739
8939
2015/16
893
5250
3547
481
10172
2016/17
1509
4058
3371
484
9422
2017/18
1192
7785
3474
506
12956
2018/19
131
4895
5327
312
10665
2019/20
128
490
9796
865
11279
2020/21
106
250
26932
191
27478
Damaged notes
When one of our banknotes gets damaged we will exchange it, if at least half of it remains. We receive thousands of claims to replace damaged banknotes each year.
The first chart below shows the number of claims we received and why. The second chart shows how much we paid to reimburse customers.
Number of claims and cause of damage
We receive thousands of claims each year from members of the public, banks, businesses and the police. This chart shows the number of claims and what caused the damage.
Value of exchanged banknotes
We exchange millions of pounds worth of banknotes. This chart shows how many British pounds we exchanged for each type of damaged banknote.
We have rounded the numbers to the nearest 1,000.
Counterfeit notes
In 2021 only a small fraction, typically less than 0.0022% of banknotes were counterfeit, that is less than 1 in 40,000 banknotes. Counterfeit notes are created illegally and are worthless. You can identify them by following our guide on how to check your banknotes.
Counterfeit notes are removed from circulation by banks and the police and are sent to us for analysis. These charts show the number we receive each year and their notional face value (they are worthless).
Number of counterfeit notes discovered
This chart shows how many counterfeit notes we receive and their denomination. The figures include both current and old banknotes series. We have rounded the numbers to the nearest 1,000. Data includes counterfeits of both current and old series notes. Lower transactional usage of cash and the increased robustness of the polymer designs acted to reduce counterfeiting during 2021.
Year
£5
£10
£20
£50
Total
Value (£ millions)
Number removed before entering circulation (bulk seizures)
2005
6000
7000
485000
6000
504000
10.1
45000
2006
8000
8000
367000
6000
389000
7.8
8000
2007
4000
6000
284000
4000
298000
6.0
15000
2008
4000
6000
692000
3000
705000
14.1
13000
2009
4000
21000
544000
3000
572000
11.3
20000
2010
6000
11000
285000
4000
306000
6.0
42000
2011
6000
122000
257000
2000
387000
6.5
0
2012
4000
163000
564000
16000
747000
13.7
9000
2013
5000
249000
435000
16000
705000
12.0
8000
2014
2000
96000
327000
15000
440000
8.3
0
2015
1000
53000
174000
23000
251000
5.2
0
2016
2000
23000
303000
27000
355000
7.7
10000
2017
1000
43000
401000
33000
478000
10.1
0
2018
1000
8000
432000
38000
479000
10.6
7000
2019
0
3000
400000
45000
448000
10.3
524000
2020
0
6000
148000
21000
175000
4.1
37000
2021
1000
4000
74000
24000
103000
2.7
20000
Notional face value of counterfeit notes discovered
This chart shows the total notional face value of notes we have removed and their denomination. The figures are in millions of British pounds. They are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Data includes counterfeits of both current and old series notes. Lower transactional usage of cash and the increased robustness of the polymer designs acted to reduce counterfeiting during 2021.