It used to mean five sovereigns.
When notes represented gold deposits, a £5 note could be swapped for five gold sovereigns. Britain left the gold standard in 1931. Since then, the note has been fiat money: its value rests on the issuer’s credibility and everyone else’s willingness to treat it as £5.
The Bank still honours every note for all time. Withdrawn paper notes never expire at Threadneedle Street; exchanging one today gets you current notes or a sterling payment - not a nugget.
Read the Bank’s promise-to-pay answer →Old notes do not become souvenirs by decree.
Freddie is 11. The fundraising ride was 170 miles.
Seven years after his first coast-to-coast fundraiser, Danny Watson returned with his 11-year-old son, Freddie, for a 170-mile Liverpool-to-Hull challenge. Their page supports essential work on CatZero’s 72-foot yacht, used to build confidence, teamwork and routes into education or employment.
Support Danny and Freddie →Your shop can refuse ‘legal tender’.
Tomorrow: why the phrase protects debtors in court, not shoppers at the till - and why Scottish banknotes are not legal tender even in Scotland.