Exchanging Pre-2011 English £50 Bank Notes

[ferguston]

A friend is returning to LOS and he intends bringing some pre-2011 £50 banknotes (with Sir John Houblon on the reverse side)rather than the new notes which were issued at the end of 2011 with Boulton & Watt on the reverse side.

The Sir John Houblon notes are still in circulation in the UK.

Have any members had any problems exchanging the older £50 notes either at banks or independent money exchangers?

I'd go and ask at my local bank but I don't have a £50 to show them !

[meatboy]

if i was him i would only bring £20's they dont like changing 50's anyway and if they are old one's you might only get offered about 60% of their value,as we found out with a few hundred old £20's we had,luckily we had a freind come and stayed with us and took them back to the uk.banks in thailand wont help at all.

[PattayaPhom]

If he is returning from the UK, why dosnt he just change them befor he comes...

[topt]

if i was him i would only bring £20's they dont like changing 50's anyway and if they are old one's you might only get offered about 60% of their value,as we found out with a few hundred old £20's we had,luckily we had a freind come and stayed with us and took them back to the uk.banks in thailand wont help at all.

I never had any problem changing £50 notes and that was all I used to bring.

I agree with PP he should change for new ones as there is a good chance they will not take them. I have had some $100 bills refused recently, one because it was an older bill and 3 because they were a little worn in the middle where they had been folded. And in the money changers they checked the face of every note and there were a fair number.

[williewolf]

I used to work in retail and a high percentage of £50 notes were torn where someone was trying to check if they were not fakes and had the metal strip running inside. Also a lot of notes were written on. I tried to change some of these on a visit to Thailand but the banks and money changers would not accept them .This left me a bit short of cash so I had to use my UK bank card at atm and incurr the charges with it. Since then when I brought cash with me I always made sure the notes were in good condition.

[phetphet]

I agree with williewolf. I changed a mixture of old and new 50's in October in Samui, and they refused several that were marked (someone had written on them), or creased.

Far better for your friend to take the time to swap them for good condition new ones in the UK.

[MYKTHEMIN]

Thai banks and money changers here are very fussy! slightest tear, mark or written on and they will not accept for baht cash, however I have found they do not bother to check them if you are paying them into your Thai bank account.

[lifemagic]

I don't know if they're still in general circulation in UK. I was in a large Tesco near Milton Keynes about a month ago now and the woman before me had her old fifty declines. She lost her temper and the manager came over and said they can only be changed in banks now.

[williewolf]

I don't know if they're still in general circulation in UK. I was in a large Tesco near Milton Keynes about a month ago now and the woman before me had her old fifty declines. She lost her temper and the manager came over and said they can only be changed in banks now.

The notes the o/p refers to have not been withdrawn yet. The last £50 to be taken out of circulation was in 1996 (Sir Christopher Wren) Maybe the woman had her floorboards up!!