The new £10 banknote featuring Jane Austen will be issued on September 14 and will start appearing in the nation’s wallets in the following days as it leaves cash centres around the country.

Here are 10 things you should know about the new tenner:

1. It has a feature to help the blind

The new £10 note is the first Bank of England banknote with a tactile feature to help blind and partially sighted users – a series of raised dots in the top left-hand corner.

2. Colourful security features

Security features include a see-through window featuring the Queen’s portrait, a quill which changes from purple to orange and a hologram of the coronation crown which appears 3D and multi-coloured when the note is tilted.

3. There’s a religious connection

Winchester Cathedral, where Austen is buried, also features on the note. It is shown in gold foil on the front and silver on the back.

4. The Austen portrait has detractors

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Bank of England Governor Mark Carney holds a mock-up of the note (PA)

The note features a portrait of Jane Austen. An engraving was commissioned by her family and based on an original sketch of Austen drawn by her sister, Cassandra Austen. The choice of the portrait has drawn some controversy, with some claims it gives Austen a “makeover” compared with her sister’s original sketch.

5. Women of note

The selection of Austen removed the possibility of a long-term absence of women on Bank of England notes, apart from the Queen, after it was announced that Sir Winston Churchill would replace social reformer Elizabeth Fry on the £5 note. The prospect of a lack of female faces on banknotes caused an outcry.

6. Polymer in place

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The £5 note features Sir Winston Churchill (PA)

The new Austen note joins the £5 note featuring Sir Winston as the Bank of England’s first “family” of banknotes to be made from polymer.

7. A longer-lasting note

Polymer banknotes last around two and-a-half times longer than paper ones and are also said to be able to survive a spin in the washing machine.

8. Controversial component

But the polymer notes issued by the Bank have also been controversial, after the discovery in late 2016 that animal-derived additives were used in the manufacture of the new £5 note.

The Bank looked into the issue and decided in February 2017 that the new £10 note would be manufactured on the same polymer material. By then, it had already printed 275 million £10 notes at a cost of £24 million.

The Bank has run a public consultation on future print runs of the £10 and £5 and the next £20 note, which will also be printed on polymer.

9. Coining it in

As well seeing Austen on banknotes, you may also spot her on coins – she features on a new £2 coin issued by the Royal Mint.

10. Paper notes

People can still spend the existing paper £10 note alongside the new tenner when it is first issued. Legal status of the paper £10 note featuring Charles Darwin will be withdrawn in Spring 2018.