New plastic £20 banknote to feature iconic artist J.M.W. Turner

A character selection process including public nominations was used by the Bank of England for the first time

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Emma Munbodh

20:10, 20 MAR 2017

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With the new £5 note launched and a new £10 one on its way, it seemed only a matter of time before the Bank of England announced a new plastic £20 to follow.

So following in line with the polymer £5 and £10 notes - featuring Jane Austen and Winston Churchill - this time round it will be the face of the iconic artist J.M.W. Turner.

The change to a plastic note promises to come with a string of security features to assist the crackdown on counterfeit copies.

Sterling work

The history

Introduced by the Bank of England for the first time in 1725, the earliest notes were in fact handwritten.

The current £20 note was first issued in 2007 with the image of Queen Elizabeth II on the front and Scottish economist Adam Smith on the reverse.

Today, it's the most common banknote in Britain with an estimated 1.9 billion in circulation, according to official figures.

But starting in 2020 this current edition will be phased out to be replaced by a polymer note.

What do we know about the launch so far?

Made of polymer, a durable, cleaner and more secure note, it will enter into circulation in two years' time, a Bank of England spokesman said.

By 2020, all notes with the exception of the £50 will be made out of plastic.

Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, told Mirror Online : “I am delighted to announce that J.M.W. Turner has been chosen to appear on the next £20 note.

"Turner is perhaps the single most influential British artist of all time.

"His work was transformative for the art world. His influence spanned his lifetime and well beyond."

Production of the new £20 note has not yet begun.

Selection process

For the first time the Bank of England used a new character selection process.

Over two months from May to July 2015, the public nominated people from within the field of visual arts to be the face of the new note.

There were 29,701 nominations for 590 eligible characters.

JMW Turner - "perhaps the single most influential British artist of all time"

What will it look like?

Printed on polymer and due to be issued in 2020, the reverse of the note will include:

J.M.W. Turner’s self-portrait, painted c. 1799 and currently on display in the Tate Britain
One of Turner’s most eminent paintings, The Fighting Temeraire, a tribute to the ship HMS Temeraire which played a distinguished role in Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805
The quote “Light is therefore colour”, from an 1818 lecture by Turner referring to his innovative use of light, shade, colour and tone in his pictures
Turner’s signature from his will

Will it be vegetarian?

Following the launch of the new £5 note last year, the Bank of England is facing a legal battle after it emerged the notes contained traces of animal fat .

However, there are no plans to withdraw the note and replace it as it would be costly to the taxpayer, the bank has said.

It would cost as much as £10m and compromise new anti-counterfeit measures.

The bank has held off signing supply contracts for now to explore plant-based substitutes like coconut oil or palm oil for the new note.

Suppliers have indicated a plant-based alternative should have no impact on the quality of banknote production, but this requires validation during production trials over the next few months.

A public consultation is being launched at the end of March 2017 to make a final decision on how the banknote will be manufactured.