Shoppers could find themselves reaching into their pocket for a hedgehog or lending a dolphin to a friend under plans for new bank notes launched today.
A shortlist published by the Bank of England has revealed the 18 species that could become the central images on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes.
It comes after the Bank controversially announced earlier this year that UK wildlife will replace historical figures such as Winston Churchill and Jane Austen on the face of new notes.
That prompted a major backlash with the move described as ‘total bonkers’ by critics and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch saying it was ‘erasing our history’ and ‘a silly thing to do’.
But the Bank is pressing ahead with the scheme and is launching a public consultation which will run until July 3.
Only the names on the shortlist may feature and the Bank said it was ‘not seeking alternative nominations’.
The shortlist, drawn up by a panel of wildlife experts, is divided into three categories.
The first, mammals, includes the bottlenose dolphin, brown hare, European hedgehog, grey seal, pine marten and red fox.
The Bank controversially announced earlier this year that UK wildlife will replace historical figures such as Winston Churchill on the face of new notes
Six birds are also listed: the Atlantic puffin, barn owl, common kingfisher, Eurasian curlew, great spotted woodpecker, and white-tailed eagle.
The final category of amphibians, insects and fish consists of the Atlantic salmon, basking shark, buff-tailed bumblebee, common frog, Emperor dragonfly and marsh fritillary butterfly.
Members of the public can select up to two examples from each category under the consultation.
But the Bank warned that while their views will be an ‘important consideration’, the governor may not necessarily choose the four animals receiving the highest responses.
That is because of the need to be able to easily tell apart the design of each note. It will be a ‘number of years’ before the new notes are launched.
The final decision will be announced by the end of this year.
Bank of England chief cashier Victoria Cleland said: ‘I very much hope the public will enjoy engaging in our consultation to choose the animals to feature on our next series of banknotes. The shortlisted animals demonstrate the rich variety of wildlife we have to celebrate in the UK.’
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The Bank said that while the use of cash for transactions has declined over the past decade, it remains the preferred payment method for about one in seven people and is used by many more.
It said the amount of cash in circulation has continued to increase, reaching £91.5 billion at the end of February 2026.
The use of historical figures on bank notes began in 1970 with William Shakespeare.
UK banknotes currently feature Sir Winston, Jane Austen, artist JMW Turner and codebreaker Alan Turing.
The Bank has previously run into controversy over banknote designs after campaigners complained that too few women had featured in recent years, prior to Jane Austen appearing in 2017.
History has also proved uncomfortable due to links with slavery. In 2021 the Bank removed from display a series of paintings and busts of governors and directors who had connections to the slave trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
