May 29 2009

Mervyn King announces new Boulton & Watt banknote at exhibition launch

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, unveiled the designs for a new Boulton & Watt £50 note at the launch of the Matthew Boulton: Selling what all the world desires exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery on May 29.

Mr King said: 'Just as the Bank of England plays an essential role in the economy as the United Kingdom's central bank, so too did Boulton and Watt's steam engines and their many other innovations as essential factors in the nation's industrial revolution'.

The banknote will go into circulation in around 18 months time.