Editing Bank of England (section)

==Banknote issues==
{{Main|Bank of England note issues}}
[[File:The First £1 note, 1797 - Bank of England Museum - Joy of Museums.jpg|thumb|A £1 note dated 1797 (and marked as having been paid in 1928)]]
The bank has issued banknotes since 1694. Notes were originally hand-written; although they were partially printed from 1725 onwards, cashiers still had to sign each note and make them payable to someone. Notes were fully printed from 1855. Until 1928 all notes were "White Notes", printed in black and with a blank reverse. In the 18th and 19th centuries, White Notes were issued in £1 and £2 denominations. During the 20th century, White Notes were issued in denominations between £5 and £1000. Until the passing of the [[Gold Standard Act 1925]] the bank was obliged to pay on demand the value of the note in gold coin to its bearer.<ref name="BoENoteHist" />

In 1724 the bank entered into a contract with [[Portals (paper makers)|Henry Portal]] of [[Whitchurch, Hampshire]] to provide high-quality paper for the printing of banknotes.<ref name="BoENoteHist">{{cite journal |title=The Bank of England Note: a Short History |journal=Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin |date=1 June 1969 |pages=211–222}}</ref> The printing itself was undertaken by private printing firms; the [[Copper-plate engraving|copper plates]] were kept in the vault, and accompanied during their time at the printer by a bank clerk (who would record the number of copies made); once dry they would be delivered to the bank. The printing operation was brought within the bank's premises (albeit still under private contract) in 1791; in 1808 it was brought fully in-house.

[[File:1813 One Guinea Gloucester Old Bank banknote.jpg|thumb|A One [[Guinea (coin)|Guinea]] banknote, issued by the Gloucester Old Bank in 1813]]
Until the mid-19th century, commercial banks were allowed to issue their own banknotes, and notes issued by provincial banking companies were commonly in circulation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=£2 note issued by Evans, Jones, Davies & Co |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/cm/others/%c2%a32_note_issued_by_evans,_jones.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118104053/http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/cm/others/%c2%a32_note_issued_by_evans,_jones.aspx |archive-date=18 January 2012 |access-date=31 October 2011 |publisher=British Museum |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The [[Bank Charter Act 1844]] began the process of restricting note issue to the bank; new banks were prohibited from issuing their own banknotes, and existing note-issuing banks were not permitted to expand their issue. As provincial banking companies merged to form larger banks, they lost their right to issue notes, and the English private banknote eventually disappeared, leaving the bank with a monopoly of note issues in England and Wales. The last private bank to issue its own banknotes in England and Wales was [[Fox, Fowler and Company]] in 1921.<ref name="banknote-history">{{Cite web |title=A brief history of banknotes |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/scottish_northernireland.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204061720/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/scottish_northernireland.htm |archive-date=4 February 2012 |access-date=31 October 2011 |website=Bank of England website}}; {{Cite web |title=Fox, Fowler & Co. £5 note |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/cm/f/fox,_fowler__co_%C2%A35_not.aspx |publisher=British Museum |access-date=31 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002040119/http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/cm/f/fox,_fowler__co_%c2%a35_not.aspx |archive-date=2 October 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> However, the limitations of the 1844 Act only affected banks in England and Wales, and today three commercial banks in Scotland and four in Northern Ireland continue to issue their own [[Banknotes of the pound sterling|banknotes]], regulated by the bank.<ref name=scot-ni/>

[[File:HM-treasury-note-10-shillings-bradbury-B.jpg|thumb|A ten-shilling Treasury note (dating from 1914), signed by [[John Bradbury, 1st Baron Bradbury|John Bradbury]]]]
At the start of the [[First World War]], the [[Currency and Bank Notes Act 1914]] was passed, which granted temporary powers to [[HM Treasury]] for issuing banknotes to the values of £1 and 10/- (ten shillings). Treasury notes had full legal tender status and were not convertible into gold through the bank; they replaced the gold coin in circulation to prevent a run on sterling and to enable raw material purchases for armament production. These notes featured an image of [[George V|King George V]] (Bank of England notes did not begin to display an image of the monarch until 1960). The wording on each note was:

{{Blockquote|UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND – Currency notes are Legal Tender for the payment of any amount – Issued by the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury under the Authority of Act of Parliament (4 & 5 Geo. V c.14).}}

Treasury notes were issued until 1928 when the [[Currency and Bank Notes Act 1928]] returned note-issuing powers to the banks.<ref name="treasurynotes1">{{Cite web |last=Trevor R Howard |title=Treasury notes |url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/trev.rh/Notes/treasury.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205183225/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/trev.rh/Notes/treasury.htm |archive-date=5 December 2007 |access-date=12 October 2007 |df=dmy}}</ref> The Bank of England issued notes for ten [[shilling]]s and one pound for the first time on 22 November 1928.

[[File:50 Pounds - Bank of England, Operation Bernhard (1936) Confucians 03.jpg|thumb|An 'Operation Bernhard' £50 note, forged by prisoners at [[Sachsenhausen concentration camp]]]]
During the Second World War, the German [[Operation Bernhard]] attempted to counterfeit denominations between £5 and £50, producing 500,000 notes each month in 1943. The original plan was to parachute the money into the UK in an attempt to destabilise the British economy, but it was found more useful to use the notes to pay German agents operating throughout Europe. Although most fell into [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] hands at the end of the war, forgeries frequently appeared for years afterward, which led banknote denominations above £5 to be removed from circulation.

In 2006, over £53&nbsp;million in banknotes belonging to the bank was [[Securitas depot robbery|stolen from a depot]] in [[Tonbridge, Kent]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 February 2006 |title=Record £53m stolen in depot raid |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4756454.stm |url-status=live |access-date=14 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302160829/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4756454.stm |archive-date=2 March 2009}}</ref>

In 1917 the bank had moved its printing operation into [[St Luke's Printing Works]], a former hospital; in 1958 it moved out to [[Debden, Epping Forest|Debden]]. Modern banknotes are printed by contract with [[De La Rue]] Currency in [[Loughton, Essex]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Banknote Production |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/pages/about/production.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310004155/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/about/production.aspx |archive-date=10 March 2012 |website=bankofengland.co.uk |publisher=Bank of England}}</ref>