£5
The £5 is turquoise and carries a portrait of Sir Winston Churchill on the back. It is the smallest of the four notes, Bank of England notes increase in size with value, so a £5 the same size as a £20 is wrong before you check anything else.
Look for a silver foil patch above the see-through window containing the three-dimensional coronation crown, and check that the hologram changes between Five and Pounds when tilted.
The image of the Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben, appears in gold on the front of the note and silver on the back. Under ultraviolet light the numeral 5 shows in bright red and green.
The £5 has no raised tactile dots in the top left corner; it is identified by being the only note without them, so their absence here is correct rather than suspicious.
£10
The £10 is orange and carries a portrait of Jane Austen on the back.
The foil patch above the see-through window is copper-coloured and contains the three-dimensional coronation crown. The hologram changes between Ten and Pounds when the note is tilted.
The image of Winchester Cathedral appears in gold on the front and silver on the back. Under ultraviolet light the numeral 10 shows in bright red and green.
In the top left corner of the front you should feel two clusters of raised dots.
£20
The £20 is purple and carries a portrait of the painter J. M. W. Turner on the back. It has two windows rather than one, a large see-through window with the monarch's portrait, and a smaller second window below it.
The foil patch is purple and contains the three-dimensional coronation crown, and the hologram changes between Twenty and Pounds when tilted. A silver foil patch on the front carries an image of Margate lighthouse and the Turner Contemporary gallery.
Under ultraviolet light the numeral 20 shows in bright red and green. In the top left corner of the front you should feel three clusters of raised dots.
The £20 is the note most often presented in ordinary transactions, so it is the one worth running all the checks on rather than relying only on the window.
£50
The £50 is red and carries a portrait of Alan Turing on the back. It is the largest of the four notes.
The foil patch is red and contains the three-dimensional coronation crown, and the hologram changes between Fifty and Pounds when tilted.
Under ultraviolet light the numeral 50 shows in bright red and green. In the top left corner of the front you should feel four clusters of raised dots.
Because the £50 is handled less often in day-to-day British life, some UK retailers decline it as a matter of policy even when it is genuine. If you are carrying pounds for a trip, ask for a mix weighted towards £10 and £20 notes.
Mythri Forex Kukatpally