The note ceased to be legal tender in 1970 and was discontinued in favour of the fifty pence coin due to inflation and decimalisation.

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.

[2] The first Bank of England 10/– 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.

The earliest post-World War II notes did not have the metallic thread security feature, but those issued from October 1948 onward did.