<P> The Bank of England £ 10 note, also known as a tenner, is a banknote of the pound sterling . It is the second - lowest denomination of banknote issued by the Bank of England . The current polymer note, first issued in 2017, bears the image of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and the image of author Jane Austen on the reverse . It will fully replace the cotton paper note featuring a portrait of naturalist Charles Darwin, first issued in 2000, in early 2018 . </P> <P> Ten pound notes were introduced by the Bank of England for the first time in 1759 as a consequence of gold shortages caused by the Seven Years' War . The earliest notes were handwritten, and were issued as needed to individuals . These notes were written on one side only and bore the name of the payee, the date, and the signature of the issuing cashier . With the exception of the Restriction Period between 1797 and 1821, when the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars caused a bullion shortage, these notes could be exchanged in full, or in part, for an equivalent amount of gold when presented at the bank . If redeemed in part, the banknote would be signed to indicate the amount that had been redeemed . From 1853 printed notes replaced handwritten notes, with the declaration "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of ten pounds" replacing the name of the payee . This declaration remains on Bank of England banknotes to this day . A printed signature of one of three cashiers appeared on the printed notes, though this was replaced by the signature of the Chief Cashier from 1870 onward . </P> <P> The ability to redeem banknotes for gold ceased in 1931 when Britain stopped using the gold standard . The £ 10 note ceased to be produced by the Bank of England in 1943, and it was not until 1964 with the advent of the series C notes that the denomination was re-introduced . These brown notes were the first £ 10 notes to feature an image of the monarch on the front, and unlike the previous' White' notes they had a reverse; in this case featuring a lion . The C series was replaced by the D series beginning in 1975, with the new notes having a portrait of Florence Nightingale on the back . The tradition of portraying historical British figures on the reverse continued with the E series, first issued in 1992, with an image of Charles Dickens appearing . Series E notes are multicoloured, although they are predominantly orange - brown . From series E onward Bank of England £ 10 notes feature' windowed' metal thread; this thread appears as a dashed line, yet forms a single line when held up to the light . </P> <P> The revised Series E £ 10 note was introduced in 2000 . It features a portrait of Charles Darwin on the back as well as an illustration of HMS Beagle and images of various flora and fauna . The note features a number of security features in addition to the metallic thread, including raised print, a watermark, microlettering, a hologram, and a number ten which only appears under ultraviolet light . </P>

Who was on the back of the old £10 note
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