New 20-pound note features Adam Smith

LONDON (Reuters) - The 18th-century economist Adam Smith will feature on the new Bank of England 20-pound note which includes enhanced security features designed to make it more difficult for counterfeiters to copy.

Smith was chosen for the back of the new-design note -- which makes its appearance on Tuesday -- because of his "contribution to the understanding of society and its development".

"Smith's insights into human nature, the organisation of society, the division of labour and the advantages of specialisation remain at the heart of economics," said Bank of England Governor Mervyn King.

Alongside Smith is a factory and a summary of Smith's observations on the benefits of the division of labour.

Smith, whose best-known work was "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations", replaces composer Edward Elgar on the 20-pound note.

Improved security features include a see-through portion, a new holographic strip, more raised-print areas, improvements to the watermark and more ultra-violet features.

Otherwise, the note is similar to existing 20-pound notes, and features the current portrait of the Queen.

The two notes will circulate in tandem until the Elgar version is progressively withdrawn from circulation.