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When Laurent Benson arrived in London from Belgium, on his to-do list was a trip to Threadneedle Street to exchange some old sterling at Bank of England.
Little did he know that the timing of his task on Wednesday meant he would be among the first to get his hands on a new type of banknote, the first to feature King Charles, and therefore a wad of cash likely to worth a lot more than the number printed on the side.
“It’s just completely random chance,” said Benson, 45, £50 in hand. He said he made the trip simply because he needed cash rather than picking up a souvenir, even if the polymer notes felt like “monopoly money” compared to the paper euros in his wallet.
“To me, who cares?” said Benson, who had first considered keeping an old Queen Elizabeth bill. “For what? I am not connected with the history of England.
If the visit to the bank was lucky for some, for others it was a calculated decision to grab some of the collectible new currency.
Many lined up outside the bank in the early hours of Wednesday, according to staff, some eager to get their hands on the new notes.
By midday, listings of “authentic” King Charles notes began to appear on eBay at double, or in some cases, triple, the value.
The King’s portrait is featured on all four UK banknotes – £5, £10, £20 and £50 – on the front and also in the transparent security windows. However, the rest of the design and security features will remain the same and no other changes have been made to the existing look of the notes.
“We are very pleased to issue the new King Charles notes. This is a historic moment as we have changed the sovereign on our banknotes for the first time,” said Andrew Bailey, the bank’s governor.
For others, like Ian Casey, the change was a good opportunity for gifts. After seeing news of the notes being launched on X, formerly Twitter, he visited the bank to send cash to his four nephews in North Wales.
“I guess it’ll probably take a while for the money to get out there, the new notes, so I thought I’d come and change them,” said the BBC digital video journalist, who plans to send £10 to each niece, keeping £70 for myself.
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It’s also historic, he said: “It’s just a significant change in time because most of the people in my family who are alive now knew that the Queen was on sheet music. In my family we have some notes that were the Queen’s father.
Paul Whiting, 60, who expressed great affection for the late Queen, wanted to mark the day by exchanging his old notes on the first day of the issue. “It’s kind of like a new era in a way. It’s just nice to have some new money,” he said after withdrawing notes of every denomination but falling short of the £300 limit.
Whiting, a retired teacher who lives in London, intends to keep the money and show it to his elderly parents in Birmingham. “The country is going through a lot of change and I think the monarchy offers a huge amount of stability and continuity but change at the same time and I think that’s a very special thing in this country,” he said.
“It’s just a change, isn’t it? I still have that view of the Queen and I guess we’re entering a new era – the Charles era.
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