The Bank of England said the Atlantic puffin, barn owl, buff-tailed bumblebee and European hedgehog will be the central images on the next series of pound notes after a public consultation.
The Bank of England said on Thursday that the Atlantic puffin, barn owl, buff-tailed bumblebee and European hedgehog will be the central images on the next series of Bank of England notes. The bank said the choice follows a public consultation on which native wildlife people wanted to see on the currency.
Nearly 500,000 people responded, the bank said. They chose from a shortlist of 18 options in three groups: mammals; birds; and amphibians, insects and fish. The shortlist was drawn up with a panel of UK wildlife experts. The barn owl, buff-tailed bumblebee and European hedgehog were the most popular animals in their categories. The Atlantic puffin was selected as the most popular marine animal.
The BBC reported that the buff-tailed bumblebee received 360,399 votes, nearly 90,000 more than the barn owl. It also reported that the red fox and the common kingfisher received more nominations than the puffin, which was still chosen to add a marine animal, make denominations easier to tell apart, and mark the British coastline.
The bank said it has not decided which animal will appear on the 5, 10, 20 or 50 pound note. That decision will be announced closer to launch. Each note will also carry other elements from nature, potentially including other shortlisted animals, the BBC reported. The puffin and bees already appear on Royal Mint coins, the BBC said.
No issue date was given. The notes are a future series, not a change to cash in circulation today.