Uploaded January 2020 | Updated September 2026, 17 minutes ago

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Why is Britannia shown eating her children on this imitation banknote? The note was designed as a protest against the harsh penalties for forging banknotes. See if you can spot any other gory details!

This film is part of our Objects in Focus series, where we take a moment to find out more about some of the interesting objects in the museum collection.

Find out more about the Bank of England Museum and view highlights from our collection: bankofengland.co.uk/museum/online-collections