King Charles banknotes sell for 12 times their value as collectors scramble for early editions
CTV
A record-breaking series of auctions of King Charles III banknotes has raised £914,127 (US$1.2 million) for 10 U.K. charities, according to the Bank of England.
A record-breaking series of auctions of King Charles III banknotes has raised £914,127 (US$1.2 million) for 10 U.K. charities, according to the Bank of England.
The banknotes, auctioned by Spink & Sons over the summer, sold for 11.7 times their face value of £78,430 (US$100,318), as collectors snapped up some of the first versions of the new cash to roll off the printing presses.
New £5, £10, £20, and £50 banknotes featuring King Charles entered circulation in the United Kingdom on June 5, marking the first time the Bank of England (BOE) has ever changed the monarch on its notes. Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022, was the first monarch to appear on sterling banknotes in 1960.
The runaway success of the auctions highlights the value that collectors attach to banknotes with especially low serial numbers, which denote that they are among the first to be printed.
For example, one £10 note with the serial number HB01 00002 sold for £17,000 (US$21,764), while a sheet of 40 of the new £50 notes, nominally worth £2,000 (US$2,600), was bought for £26,000 (US$33,300), the highest value lot ever sold at a BOE banknote auction.
“Lucky numbers” also attracted high bids, according to Spink & Sons. Two £5 notes with serial numbers ending in 88 and 888 were auctioned for £2,200 (US$2,800) and £2,400 (US$3,100).
