Bank of England restriction note

Cruikshank designed this imitation banknote as a protest against the harshness of the United Kingdom’s anti-forgery laws. Anyone found guilty of producing, distributing or handling fake banknotes could be executed by hanging or transported by sea to Australia.

Cruikshank replaced the standard features of a Bank of England note with gruesome imagery. Britannia is crowned by a skull and eating a child. The pound sign is a hangman’s noose. The Chief Cashier's signature has been replaced with that of the former public executioner.