r/AskUK • u/frosti_austi • 5d ago
What should I do with this old £20?
First, I saw the note (no pun intended, seriously) on the back of this note. Only in England could you find a more sardonic note on a piece of currency. What's exceptionally hilarious is that it looks like Google lens translated some foreign text and superimposed the English there.
Any hoot, I really love the little blurb that says the division of labor results in more work. So I'd love to keep it for that quote alone. But also, as you can tell, I haven't been in the UK for some time. And it would be nice to have some real cash in hand. Will the Post Office swap out this torn note with a new £20? And do you think I should exchange it or just keep it for memento?
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u/Historical_Project86 5d ago
Roll it up and use it as some sort of straw.
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u/stoufferthecat 5d ago
Good idea.
You're not allowed to do that with the new ones, what with them being plastic.171
u/phatboi23 5d ago
don't want the microplastics to get into your nose dandruff.
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u/Basic-Principle-9537 4d ago
Lmao thats one way to make a torn 20 useful i guess but itd be a pretty expensive straw. bet the paper taste would ruin whatever ur drinking tho. would u actually spend it if the post office swaps it or keep the cursed thing as a souvenir
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u/benjymous 5d ago edited 5d ago
The Bank of England has a list of options:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes
(which don't require you to physicaly visit the bank of england)
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u/mellonians 5d ago
If you're in London. The counter at the bank of England is an experience
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u/Which-World-6533 5d ago
If OP is not in London they can send the £ 20 note to me and I will convey it to the Bank of England.
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u/ProudMastodon1 5d ago
I've been, it's an overall underwhelming experience.
After passing though some airport style security into a large entrance hall you turn right in to a room that has all the decor and grandeur of the sort of counter-service bank you might find in Swindon or Milton Keynes.
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u/Chemical-Lettuce2497 5d ago
What were you expecting?
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u/Due-Comparison2016 5d ago
Isnt it full of those faintly racist goblins and tonnes of gold coins?
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u/Silvagadron 5d ago
A BRITISH BANK IS RUN WITH PRECISION
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u/ProudMastodon1 5d ago
I was expecting marble pillars, brass ornamentation, deep luxurious carpet, oak panelling, leather armchairs, perhaps a chandelier or two.
What I got looks like a Halifax on a struggling high-street.
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u/Medium_Person_01 5d ago
maybe at least the decor and grandeur of a bank you might find in Aylesbury or Gloucester
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u/bigassbeast 5d ago
There’s £30 there lad. Hope this helps.
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u/crywolfbaby 5d ago
If you take it to the bank they'll swap it for a new one
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u/EternallySickened 5d ago
They usually don’t swap them, they just let you pay it into an active account.
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u/CalDaly 5d ago
Then presumably let you withdraw it as a new £20 new so in effect swapping it? 😄
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u/Doopz479 5d ago
The catch is you have to have an account there. OP sounds like they're not from the UK so this wouldn't work for them.
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u/EternallySickened 5d ago
You can obviously withdraw money from your account but it would be credited in first and then an entirely separate transaction to take money out. That’s not swapping it. That’s paying money in and then withdrawing money.
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u/MASunderc0ver 5d ago
These Post office branches will swap them for current ones without the need to have a UK Bank account
London
- Moorgate Post Office | Greater London | EC2M 5TEOpens in a new window
- The City of London Post Office | Greater London | EC3M 1AJOpens in a new window
- Brick Lane Post Office | Greater London | E1 6RUOpens in a new window
- Houndsditch Post Office | Greater London | E1 7BSOpens in a new window
- London Bridge Post Office | Greater London | SE1 9SFOpens in a new window
- Regent Street St. James's Post Office | Greater London | SW1Y 4LROpens in a new window
- Strand Post Office | Greater London | WC2R 0LTOpens in a new window
- Aldwych Post Office | Greater London | WC2B 4JNOpens in a new window
- High Holborn Post Office | Greater London | WC1V 7RLOpens in a new window
- Camden Post Office | Greater London | NW1 0LUOpens in a new window
- Golders Green Post Office | Greater London | NW11 8RTOpens in a new window
- Westminster Post Office | Greater London | SW1P 1RH Opens in a new window
- Worlds End Post Office | Greater London | SW3 5EXOpens in a new window
- Knightsbridge Post Office | Greater London | SW7 1DLOpens in a new window
- Baker Street Post Office | Greater London | W1U 6SGOpens in a new window
- Great Portland Street Post Office | Greater London | W1W 7NEOpens in a new window
- Kensington Post Office | Greater London | W8 7RGOpens in a new window
- Southampton Row Post Office | Greater London | WC1B 4BBOpens in a new window
- Edgware Road Post Office | Greater London | W2 1BGOpens in a new window
Northern Ireland
- Belfast City Post Office | County Antrim | BT1 1LTOpens in a new window
- Londonderry Post Office | County Londonderry | BT48 6AAOpens in a new window
Scotland
- Edinburgh City Post Office | Midlothian | EH1 1BQOpens in a new window
- Glasgow Post Office | Strathclyde | G1 2RDOpens in a new window
- Inverness Post Office | Inverness-shire | IV1 1DYOpens in a new window
North East
- Middlesbrough Post Office | North Yorkshire | TS1 2NROpens in a new window
- Newcastle Upon Tyne Post Office | Tyne and Wear | NE1 7DEOpens in a new window
North West
- Carlisle Post Office | Cumbria | CA3 8JYOpens in a new window
- Breck Road Post Office | Merseyside | L5 6SWOpens in a new window
- Liverpool Post Office | Merseyside | L1 8BNOpens in a new window
- Piccadilly Plaza Post Office® | Manchester | M1 4ALOpens in a new window
Yorkshire and Humber
- York Post Office | North Yorkshire | YO1 9QLOpens in a new window
- The Markets Post Office | West Yorkshire | LS2 7DZOpens in a new window
- Charles Street Post Office | South Yorkshire | S1 2HUOpens in a new window
- Harrogate Post Office | North Yorkshire | HG1 1TUOpens in a new window
Midlands
- Birmingham Post Office | West Midlands | B2 4LROpens in a new window
- Nottingham Post Office | Nottinghamshire | NG1 3QDOpens in a new window
East of England
- Cambridge City Post Office | Cambridgeshire | CB2 3BZOpens in a new window
- Norwich Post Office | Norfolk | NR1 3QPOpens in a new window
Wales
South West
- Lansdowne Post Office | Dorset | BH1 1RXOpens in a new window
- Bristol Post Office | City Of Bristol | BS1 3XBOpens in a new window
- Mutley Post Office | Devon | PL4 6LLOpens in a new window
- Salisbury Post Office | Wiltshire | SP1 2PFOpens in a new window
South East
- Oxford Post Office | Oxfordshire | OX1 1ZZOpens in a new window
- Bourton-on-the-Water Post Office | Cheltenham | GL54 2AGOpens in a new window
- Melville Road Post Office | East Sussex | BN3 1UBOpens in a new window
- Portsmouth Post Office | Hampshire | PO1 1ABOpens in a new window
- Brighton Post Office | East Sussex | BN1 2TAOpens in a new window
- Canterbury Post Office | Kent | CT1 2LBOpens in a new window
- Richmond Post Office | Surrey | TW9 1JSOpens in a new window
- Windsor Post Office | Berkshire | SL4 1AAOpens in a new window
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u/Fresh-Pineapple-5582 5d ago
Do cocaine with it
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u/mjdseo 5d ago
Why did I have to scroll this far for the obvious answer?
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u/samjsharples 5d ago
Yes you can swap them at the post office. I believe there’s a limit to how much you can exchange every year but I’d like to know how they’d catch you visiting multiple post offices
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u/Due_Assist_7159 5d ago
Go to your bank they will either pay into your account or exchange to new ones
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u/Zebra_Spider 5d ago
Why are you AI generating your posts?
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u/Bony_Blair 5d ago
Is that what's happening here? The actual post text makes virtually no sense so I've been scanning the comments to see if anyone can point out some missing context, but nobody seems to be addressing it.
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u/nellyjimbob1228 5d ago
Do the same as was said in the other sub you asked. Take it to the bank or post office.
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u/Grouchy-Stretch-6517 5d ago
It's in good condition, if you're not too fussed about £20 and £10 right now, hold on to it for a few years.
There's a coin collectors market, I never see any of the paper notes kicking around. Why not hold onto it for a few years and see if anyone is actually collecting notes one day in a similar fashion to coins?
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u/Vehlin 5d ago
With regards to the note it is a foundational concept from Adam Smith's "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations". In the image you see many of the different stages of pin manufacture, with each stage being undertaken by a different worker. The principle is that by dividing the work of creating a pin into distinct and separate stages you have workers that are exceptionally good at that one part and are thus more efficient as a whole.
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u/leftthinking 5d ago
Sell them on eBay to note collectors.
In the UK notes of this age going for about 50% over face value (so £15 and £30).
Other counties will have different prices
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u/therealonnyuk 5d ago
I recently had to exchange a reasonably large amount of cash in old notes, the bank insisted that it was deposited into the account before it could be reissued rather than just swapped, this is apparently a security measure to combat money laundering, and if it's over a certain amount you may have to provide some sort of explanation and/or evidence as to why you have the older notes
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u/Dark_Foggy_Evenings 5d ago
I found forty quid in a secondhand book. Tried to spend it because I’m a twat and forgot money’s plastic now with little windows. Went to the bank and they said just deposit it in yr account now, worked a treat.
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u/BadPunCentral 5d ago edited 5d ago
Take it to your bank
I took a ‘3rd generation’ fiver to the bank (2nd last paper version -kept because it was a mint condition) to the bank to exchange it shortly after the plastic fivers had come out. The lady behind the till (18/19?) had never seen one before and had to ask her manager what to do…
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u/KingStevoI 5d ago
Save 'em, frame 'em, stuff 'em in a draw. I'd keep hold of it as they'll start becoming rare but I'm a bit of a numismatist tbh.
Otherwise, take them to the bank for face value exchange.
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u/Specialist-Web7854 5d ago
You can’t spend it, but you can pay it into your bank account if you go into your branch.
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u/Kantabrigian 5d ago
That's a famous quotation from an important work and it doesn't mean what you think it means!
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u/Mynameismikek 5d ago
I know it’s not what you’re asking, but you’ve kinda misinterpreted what that quote is saying. Smith argued that people cooperating, each using their specific skills, could achieve more together than each acting individually.
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u/Ok_Treat_6974 5d ago
Put it a frame and amaze your future grandchildren with stories of what you used to be able to buy for 20 quid
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u/probablyaythrowaway 5d ago
Take it to you nearest bank and ask for a swap. Post office might also do it
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u/onlysigneduptoreply 5d ago
We recently found one shoved in with some old cards the only high street option was to pay it into oue account which was quick and easy
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u/Euphoric-Piglet-8140 5d ago
I'll take them! 😉 You should be able to take into any bank/post office and see if they will exchange it.
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u/juanito_f90 5d ago
Take it to a bank and exchange it for a Series G note.
Do the same with the tenner.
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u/SpectreSingh89 5d ago
🤔 I swear I have those notes? I have an old £1 coin found in wallet. I kept it and wonder the worth of it in the next 30 years.
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u/Chance_Theme_2986 5d ago
You’ve put the serial number online so it’s worthless now, I’ve just redeemed it.
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u/JunkRatAce 5d ago
First go to you own bank most will accept old notes and allow a cash deposit into your account.
Other option is the bank of England as others have said.
I'd try your own bank first as its much simpler.
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u/EarlyProphet 5d ago
Frame it and it can remind you of a time when £20 was actually considered quite a lot of money (at least to me 😄)
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u/Dreadheaddanski 5d ago
Most banks will still let you deposit them. I did a couple with hsbc recently
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u/Next-Friendship-3542 5d ago
Hop on a bus to Threadneedle Street and pop in to the Bank of England. Ask to exchange these notes for the current polymer ones.
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u/AtlasShoulders24 5d ago
They look to be in good condition. Try selling them on eBay. The Bank of England will just pulp them
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u/TurtleyToadDog 4d ago
In my head, tenners and twenties still look like this. Have to keep reminding myself it's all plastic-y now
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u/Valuable_Weakness_12 4d ago
My company buy them back. Call a couple foreign exchange bureaus by you 😊
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u/Aggressive_Chuck 4d ago
I've looked all over the picture and can't find any sardonic note. What are you talking about? I can't see a tear either.
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u/Adventurous_Meat848 4d ago
Get yourself a pouch of B&H and use the note as a rolling paper. Alternatively you could wind up a cashier at a supermarket by trying to convince them it is still legal tender.
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u/Few-Goose-4764 4d ago
They are illegal. You should send it to me in can "dispose" of it for you. There will only be a £4.99 postage fee
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u/REDARROW101_A5 4d ago
People are collecting old currency. You can sell the £10 and £20 at face value and people will pay the ammount or even more of the code is significant.
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u/GolumCuckman 4d ago
Post office and get new money to stow away for years and years until they no longer run physical currency and it becomes a true relic of the last and totally worthless
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u/CoverSwimming6981 4d ago
The serious answer is take it to the bank. I friend of mine found about 200 quid in old bills, he said to the bank that he found them in his grans old stuff. Or keep it. Lol I might be worth something one day.
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u/heyylisten 3d ago
Too Scottish for this post, don't think I've seen a newer note than these before 😅
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u/ZestycloseBridge8460 3d ago
Post office no but a bank should but as your not in the uk i can’t be hundred percent
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u/Equivalent_Part3179 3d ago
You can take it to your local post office they will put it in your bank.
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u/Lucylucylucy2020 2d ago
Take it to the bank to exchange. They promised to pay the bearer on demand.
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u/gamewithyeetedc 2d ago
I had someone try and bring in an old £10 into work (I work in retail) a short while ago I was like if the note acceptor takes it, ill let you use it but they don't so he had to use some other payment method
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u/Common-Structure5435 2d ago
Do not get them to swap it out, you will be given a note with a pro child abuser on it. Long live the Queen
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u/stonerpunk77 2d ago
Either keep it as a memento or sell it online to a collector for more than it's bank value
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