<P> In the 18th and 19th centuries, banknotes were handwritten or part - printed and could be exchanged, in whole or in part, for an equivalent amount of gold when presented at the bank . During the First World War the British Government wanted to maintain its stocks of bullion and so banks were ordered to stop exchanging banknotes for gold . One pound and 10 shilling notes were introduced by the Treasury in lieu of gold sovereigns . These notes were nicknamed "Bradburys" because of the prominent signature of Sir John Bradbury, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury displayed on the notes . Britain returned to the gold standard in 1925, but the Bank of England was only obliged to exchange notes for gold in multiples of 400 ounces or more . The responsibility for the printing of ten - shilling notes was transferred to the Bank of England in 1928, and the right to redeem banknotes for gold ceased in 1931 when Britain stopped using the gold standard . </P> <P> The first Bank of England ten - shilling notes were two - sided, red, printed banknotes featuring the declaration "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of ten shillings" on the front . This declaration remains on Bank of England banknotes to this day . In 1940, during the Second World War, ten - shilling notes were issued in a new mauve and grey colour scheme in order to deter counterfeiters, although the design remained the same . At the same time, a metallic thread running through the paper was introduced as a security feature . After the war ten - shilling notes were issued in their original red colour . The earliest post-World War II notes did not have the metallic thread security feature, but those issued from October 1948 onward did . </P> <P> A new design for ten - shilling notes was introduced in 1961, with the old notes ceasing to be legal tender in 1962 . These new series C notes were slightly longer and narrower, and were the first ten - shilling notes to feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the front . The reverse design incorporated the logo of the Bank of England . In the late 1960s it was decided that future banknotes should feature a British historical figure on the reverse . The first such note was the series D £ 20 note, first issued in 1970, featuring William Shakespeare . A design for a ten - shilling note featuring Walter Raleigh on the reverse was approved in 1964 but was never issued . Instead, in 1969, as part of the process of decimalisation, a new fifty pence coin was introduced as a replacement for the ten - shilling note . The principal reason for the change was economy: the notes had an average lifetime of about five months whereas coins could last at least fifty years . The series C ten shilling notes ceased to be legal tender on 22 November 1970 . In the Isle of Man, both the English and Manx Ten Shilling Notes continued to be legal tender for fifty new pence until 2013 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Note </Th> <Th> First issued </Th> <Th> Last issued </Th> <Th> Ceased to be legal tender </Th> <Th> Colour </Th> <Th> Size </Th> <Th> Design </Th> <Th> Additional information </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Series A (1st issue) </Td> <Td> 22 November 1928 </Td> <Td> Unknown </Td> <Td> 29 October 1962 </Td> <Td> Red - brown </Td> <Td> 138 × 78 mm </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Emergency wartime issue </Td> <Td> 2 April 1940 </Td> <Td> Unknown </Td> <Td> 22 October 1962 </Td> <Td> Mauve and grey </Td> <Td> 138 × 78 mm </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Incorporated metal thread for the first time; same design as series A </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Series A (2nd issue) </Td> <Td> 17 June 1948 </Td> <Td> Unknown </Td> <Td> 29 October 1962 </Td> <Td> Brown </Td> <Td> 138 × 78 mm </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Reissue of unthreaded pre-war notes </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Series A (3rd issue) </Td> <Td> 25 October 1948 </Td> <Td> Unknown </Td> <Td> 29 October 1962 </Td> <Td> Brown </Td> <Td> 138 × 78 mm </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Metal thread introduced permanently </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Series C </Td> <Td> 12 October 1961 </Td> <Td> 13 October 1969 </Td> <Td> 22 November 1970 </Td> <Td> Red - brown </Td> <Td> 140 × 67 mm </Td> <Td> Front: Queen Elizabeth II; Back: Bank of England logo </Td> <Td> First 10 / - note to carry portrait of monarch </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Series D </Td> <Td_colspan="3"> N / A </Td> <Td> Red - brown </Td> <Td> 121 × 62 mm </Td> <Td> Front: Queen Elizabeth II; Back: Sir Walter Raleigh </Td> <Td> Intended as 50p note following decimalisation; never issued </Td> </Tr> </Table>

When did the ten shilling note go out of circulation