The first batch of plastic currency in the UK will "debut" in Scotland in March 2015. Clydesdale Bank of Scotland will issue 5-pound polymer banknotes, with a circulation of 2 million notes.
Clydesdale Bank recently announced that the new plastic currency is being issued to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Forth Bridge, the first major steel structure in the UK located west of Edinburgh. It is also to celebrate the bridge's nomination in January this year for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The new plastic currency features an image of the Forth Bridge and a portrait of the famous Scottish engineer William Arrol. Arrol's company began construction of the Forth Bridge in 1883. The project took 7 years, and the bridge was opened on March 4, 1890.
The announcement stated that the new plastic currency is smaller than the current paper banknotes of the same denomination and adopts a new anti-counterfeiting technology with color-changing visual effects. This will be the first time such new technology has been used for UK currency. After research, the banking industry believes that plastic currency is more resistant to dirt, more durable, and has better anti-counterfeiting properties than paper currency.
The Bank of England, the UK's central bank, announced last December that it would begin issuing 5-pound polymer banknotes starting in 2016, featuring the portrait of the Queen and the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Starting in 2017, the bank will issue 10-pound plastic currency, which, in addition to the Queen's portrait, will also feature the portrait of the famous British female writer Jane Austen.