ERNIE History

The Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, better known as ERNIE was devised to select prize winners of Premium Savings Bonds.

• The initial concept of the machine was devised by Mr S.W. Broadhurst.
• Premium Bonds were officially launched on 1 November 1956 by Harold MacMillan, Chancellor of the Exchequer.
• The first draw took place on 2 June 1957.
• There were 23 denominations of bond values.
  • The minimum purchase was a £1 bond.
  • The maximum purchase was a £500 bond.

Premium Bond Interview: Dr Charles Hill  on July 26, 1956 ITN mid-evening news [10pm] A government scheme to raise money and offer in return monthly prizes was unveiled by the Postmaster General, Dr Charles Hill. In this report he is interviewed by ITN's Lynne Reid Banks and unveils the electronic machine [ERNIE] that will choose the prizewinners.

Series A Bonds [For reference as an historical document]

This Bond is issued under the terms of the Prospectus relating to Bonds of Series A. The following particulars are for information only and shall not form part of the conditions of purchase:-

1. This Bond is registered at the Premium Savings Bond Office, Lytham St.Anne's, Lancashire, in the name of the holder who may apply for repayment at any time by obtaining a form at a Post Office or Bank and forwarding it to the above address.
2. This Bond first becomes eligible for a draw for prizes when it has been held for six months beginning on the first day of the month following its purchase. Thereafter, subject to note , it will remain eligible for subsequent draws which will be held monthly.
3. On repayment of the Bond or the death of the holder it will cease to be eligible for the draw held during the following month or any subsequent month.
4. On the death of the holder his personal representative may obtain at a Savings Bank Post Office the appropriate form (S.B.4) to claim repayment of this Bond.
5. The maximum permissible holding of this Series is 500 unit Bonds (purchase price £500). Bonds held in excess of this number are ineligible for a draw.
6. On changing name or permanent address the holder should immediately notify the address given in Note 1, quoting the serial numbers of all Bonds held.
7. Leaflets giving fuller information, including details of prizes, may be obtained at Post Offices, Banks and National Savings Centres.

NB. For current terms and conditions, see the section ERNIE Today.

ERNIE, Mark I was the first large-scale use by the Post Office of transistors, rectangular-hysteresis-loop ferrites and printed circuit board techniques.

ERNIE generates random numbers and these are later matched to a list of bond holders to produce the winners each month.

Photos

	ERNIE - Mark I Ernest Marples (Postmaster General) starts the first prize draw in 1957. It used to take 10 days to run a complete cycle for each draw. Photo from National Savings & Investments website.
	ERNIE - Mark II Into the computer age: the new ERNIE, built in 1973 took only 6 hours to run a draw and could easily cope with the increasing range of numbers, as premium bonds became more popular both as an investment and a bit of fun. 'Ernie 2 (1973-88) was designed to look like one of the sets from the James Bond movie Goldfinger.' Photo from National Savings & Investments website.
	ERNIE - Mark III A much streamlined ERNIE  came into being in 1988 although the principle of generating random numbers has remained unchanged. Photo from National Savings & Investments website.

A weekly jackpot prize of £25,000 (drawn on a Saturday) was introduced in September 1968 and the first winning bond was 5RS 662663. This weekly draw was scrapped in favour of a larger monthly draw and so a £1 million jackpot prize was introduced in April 1994 to compete with the football pools and to retain investors.

In the 21st century, ERNIE is as popular as ever...

• The maximum holding limit is £20,000
• The minimum purchase is now £100
• The smallest prize drawn is £50

From May 2003, the maximum holding limit was increased to £30,000. At the same time the odds of a single bond winning a prize were lengthened to 30000 to 1.

From September 2004, the odds changed to 24000 to 1.

Premium Bond numbers are only issued once and consequently, as sales of bonds increase over the years, the range of numbers eligible for a prize is wider than ever. To cope with this spread, from June 2005 Premium Bonds will have 11 digits – older bonds have 9 or 10 digits – ERNIE 4 is capable of producing all three variations of bond numbers.

ERNIE Mark 4

...the power behind Premium Bonds

	...the power behind Premium Bonds ERNIE 4 actually started generating the winning bond numbers in April 2004. As usual for Premium Bond prize draws, the machine and prize draw results were checked independently and rigorously to ensure they were random. To celebrate the introduction of the new version, a special launch event took place at the Science Museum in August.

ERNIE Today

	All Premium Bonds, including the original Series A and those bought since, are eligible for the prize draws, subject to the current terms and conditions specified by NS & I [ www.nsandi.com/products/pb/index.jsp?section=3D3Dterms ] which are updated from time to time.

It is worth noting for all series of Premium Bonds:

• All Bonds are now eligible to enter the prize draw after just one month after purchase.
• Customers are entitled to hold up to £30,000 worth of Premium Bonds.
• When a Premium Bond Holder dies, his or her Bonds can stay in the draw for a year, with all prizes going to the Estate. After a year the Bonds are no longer eligible and it is recommended that the Estate arranges to cash them in.
• The minimum purchase is £100

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Links & References
	If you have a query about money or bonds held in National Savings, please visit the National Savings & Investments site.

The Post Office Electrical Engineers' Journal Vol 50 Part 1 April 1957 - "ERNIE" - the Electronic Random Number Indicating Equipment for the Premium Savings Bond Prize Draws by R.K. Hayward and E.L. Bubb.