The Bank of England issued a new £20 note on 13 March 2007. The note features a portrait of Adam Smith, who is described as one of the fathers of modern economics. It is the same size and colour as the old-style £20 note that features Sir Edward Elgar.

The new £20 notes will circulate alongside the old Elgar note which will be gradually withdrawn from circulation. The date when its legal tender status ends, will be announced in due course.

The note features new security features designed to further help the prevention of counterfeiting.

The most noticeable change is that the note is printed on normal bank note paper combined with granite fibres, a technique first used on the GB issue £10 stamp. When examined under a UV light, coloured strands can be seen throughout the paper. At this time it is not believed that any forger would be able to duplicate this.

The usual metallic thread is still in place running vertically throughout the note, which appears to be simple lines of metal, but when held up to the light reveals a dark solid line.

The hologram first used in the previous £20 note has been changed to make a holographic strip also running vertically through the note. It has a number of foil patches along its length containing alternating images.

The watermark is the same as previously, although this note has odd coloured squares and rectangles on both side of the paper. When held up to the light these coloured blocks join together to form the pound sterling symbol.

The ultra violet features are still in place, although the 20 has been moved to the top of the note. This was changed after feedback from customers, who wanted an easy place to check the note under banking style uv lights without having to rotate or inverting the note.

The most impressive thing I have found on the new note is the microlettering, which spells out numerous words throughout the note. Even under a magnifying glass it is hard to make out everything, and it is also believed that forgers will not be able to duplicate this to the same quality.

It remains to be seen how long the note will be in circulation until it is replaced, although with the new security features it should take forgers a while to catch up!

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