This is the very point that you have still failed to grasp. If you look at the legal definition of legal tender you will see that they are radically different.
You are not alone in this. There is widespread public misconception of what the term actually means.
IIRC, there is essentially only one edition of English banknotes in circulation at any one time. When they introduce a new design, the old notes are gradually withdrawn (presumably collected by the banks), and after a few months they are no longer legal tender. If you find yourself with an old design, the only place legally obliged to accept it is the actual Bank of England, in Threadneedle Street, who will exchange your old note for a new note. If you're lucky, it will be handed to you personally by the Chief Cashier, Andrew Bailey (who is the one who promises to pay you).
That is the answer. It doesn't need to be legal tender, because legal tender doesn't mean what you think it means. Paper money can work pefectly well without being legal tender, as Scotland demonstrates.
The link above on the BBC says "But that remains as legal tender until a withdrawal date is set by the Bank." Yet the Bank of England says they will ALWAYS be legal tender accepted at the Bank of England:
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I guess if you don't live near a Bank of England.....
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Did you know that an anagram of "Major Scott" is " Mac Jots Rot" ?
There is a good possibility of these notes becoming collectors items in the future and worth a bit more than £50. Look at the old white fivers. Most people couldn't afford to have a fiver in their pocket. I'd put one away.
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