Check your £20s

As forged £20 notes are being used in the Lincoln area police are urging people to be on the look-out for the bogus currency.

As reported on this site last week the bogus £20s have been exchanged for goods in shops and for takeaway food as well as for cash sales on facebook Marketplace. 

The Bank of England has information on all British bank notes and police are urging shoppers and businesses to check the features of notes they receive.

The current £20 note was first issued in February 2020 – some feature the late Queen Elizabeth II, but notes carrying Kings Charles III’s portrait were released in June 2024. The artist JMW Turner is the ‘face’ of the current note.

Key security features on the £20 

• When tilted from side to side a hologram on a genuine note will alternate between the words ‘Twenty’ and ‘Pounds’.
• A round, purple foil patch contains the letter 'T'. You will find this on the back of the note, directly behind the silver crown on the front of the note.
• A portrait of the monarch is printed on the window with '£20 Bank of England’ printed twice around the edge.
• A silver foil patch contains a 3D image of the coronation crown. You will find this above the main see-through window on the front of the note.
• The note is printed on polymer, which is a thin and flexible plastic material.  On the front of the note, you can feel raised print. For example, on the words ‘Bank of England’ and in the bottom right corner, over the smaller window.
• Under a good quality ultra-violet light, the number '20' appears in bright red and green on the front of the note, against a duller background.

If you have been a victim or have any information about where these notes may be coming from, report it on the Lincolnshire Police website https://www.lincs.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111