One week till the Darwin £10 is extinct

The Bank of England will withdraw legal tender status of the paper £10 note next week, with only the polymer version accepted as legal tender.

The paper note, which features Charles Darwin, will no longer be accepted from 23:59pm on Thursday 1st March and the Bank is encouraging anyone who still has any to use them in the next week.

Over 73 per cent of £10 notes in circulation are polymer, but there are still around 211 million paper £10 notes left in circulation.

The new polymer note featuring Jane Austen will be the only £10 note with legal tender status after 1st March 2018.

Some banks and building societies may accept paper £10 notes after 1st March but this is at their own discretion and most retailers will no longer accept the paper £10 note as payment.

As for any other Bank of England note which no longer has legal tender status, the Bank of England will continue to exchange Darwin £10 notes for all time.