The history of the British pound dates back to 1694, when the Bank of England was founded as a private bank for the English government. In 1725, the first banknotes with an imprinted value were released. Until then, the value of the notes had been written by hand. In 1866 the bank had to go through one of its first crises. The company Overend Gurney sold goods at low prices, and got into financial trouble due to a series of bad loans. In a last ditch effort to save the company, the Bank of England was asked for a loan. It was rejected and Overend Gurney closed the next day. Until 1931, British pounds could be redeemed at the equivalent value in gold. When that practice was dropped, confidence in the pound plummeted and the bank lost much of its reserves. In the 1940s, the Second World War raged across Europe and the British fought against Nazi Germany on several fronts. In a cunning attempt to collapse the British economy, the Germans began counterfeiting British pounds and sending them into circulation. The notes hadn’t changed much since 1725 and the counterfeiters were good at their job. 10 percent of all the banknotes in circulation at the time were forged by the Germans. It was of course a huge problem for the Bank of England, so they introduced, among other things, a special blue one pound note with a metal thread. In 1943 it was decided to temporarily stop issuing notes with a value higher than five British pounds. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II became the first monarch to be portrayed on a British banknote. Since then, the queen has been an important piece in the fight against counterfeiters. It is easier to see irregularities in the portrait than elsewhere on the banknote.