The new polymer five pound note - just how tough is it?
The BANK of England released a new fiver into circulation on September 13th and now the new, shiny, plastic notes are slowly starting to show up in the wallet of Britons.
Nearly a month after the notes were released, we decided to find out if the waterproof, polymer fiver is actually indestructible.
According to their website, the Bank of England engineered the new note in hopes of a cleaner, safer and stronger design.
Security features were added to the note to make it safer and harder to counterfeit. These include the see-through window and foil on Elizabeth Tower, Big Ben’s clock tower, which is gold on the front and silver on the back.
In addition to the security features, the note now includes former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill on the opposite side, replacing social reformer Elizabeth Fry.
The new fiver is the first of new polymer notes - 18th century novelist Jane Austen will be featured on the new ten pound note, which will be issued in the summer of 2017. The new polymer twenty pound note, set to be introduced by 2020, will feature English Romanticist painter JMW Turner.
When we asked people what they think of the new five pound notes, some commented and said that they did not find the bills to be indestructible.
“I beg to differ” said Alex Toon, who was able to rip his fiver. Others commented that theirs ripped, melted, or shrunk.
Sharon Fletcher said “Don’t leave them in your pocket when tumble drying. In the washer they survive, but the dryer just destroys them and they shrivel up”