British banknotes

Banknotes of the Pound Sterling

Pound sterling banknotes The UK (red) and overseas territories (blue) using the Pound or their local issue
ISO 4217
Code	GBP (Great Britain Pound)
Denominations
Currency symbol £ Subunit Penny (1/100) Subunit symbol p Banknotes Freq. used £5, £10, £20, £50 Rarely used £1 (Not used by the Bank of England or in NI), £100 (Not used by the Bank of England) Higher valued Banknotes do exist, such as the £1,000,000 (Giant) and £100,000,000 (Titan), however, usage is restricted"- such as through backing Scottish and Northern Ireland Currencies"
Demographics
Users	United Kingdom Jersey Guernsey Isle of Man South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (Tristan da Cunha only)
Issuance
Central Bank	Bank of England
Note-issuing banks England & Wales Bank of England Scotland Bank of Scotland Royal Bank of Scotland Clydesdale Bank Northern Ireland Northern Bank/Danske Bank First Trust Bank Ulster Bank Bank of Ireland Crown dependencies States of Guernsey States of Jersey Isle of Man Government
Printer	De La Rue

£1 (Not used by the Bank of England or in NI), £100 (Not used by the Bank of England)

Sterling banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in the United Kingdom and its related territories, denominated in pounds sterling (symbol: £; ISO 4217 currency code GBP [Great Britain Pound]).

Sterling banknotes are official currency in the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Tristan da Cunha in St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. One pound is equivalent to 100 pence. Three British Overseas Territories also have currencies called pounds which are at par with the pound sterling.

In most countries of the world the issue of banknotes is handled exclusively by a single central bank or government, but in the United Kingdom seven retail banks have the right to print their own banknotes in addition to the Bank of England; sterling banknote issue is thus not automatically tied in with one national identity or the activity of the state. The arrangements in the UK are unusual, but comparable systems are used in Hong Kong and Macao, where three and two banks respectively issue their own banknotes in addition to their respective governments.

The Bank of England does act as a central bank in that it has a monopoly on issuing banknotes in England and Wales, and regulates the issues of banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Pounds issued by Crown Dependencies and other areas are regulated only by local governments and not the Bank of England.