Rare £20 King Charles banknote sells at auction for £7,000 – how to spot one in your change
A RARE £20 banknote bearing the face of King Charles III has sold at auction for £7,000.
The note fetched the whopping sum at a charity auction held by Spink and Son on behalf of the Bank of England (BoE) today.
New banknotes with the face of the monarch on one side have started entering circulation.
They will slowly replace old notes featuring the late Queen Elizabeth II as they become worn or to meet an increase in demand.
But it’s worth keeping an eye out for some of the King Charles III notes in particular that could be worth multiple times their face value.
Each new printed banknote features a unique “serial number” used to identify it.
The serial number starts with a four-digit prefix followed by six digits.
There are 999,000 notes printed and put into circulation – with the six digits at the end ranging from 000001 to 999000.
Some of the new notes making their way into pockets are worth much more than their face value due to specific serial numbers they have on them.
The £10 notes with the prefix HB 01 are particularly valuable while £5 notes with the CA 01 prefix are worth a lot of money too.
When it comes to the £20 note, you will want to look out for notes with the EH 01 prefix, followed by a low number, like 000002 or 000003.
At a charity auction held by Spink and Son today for some of the rarest £20 notes, one with the serial number EH 01 000002 sold for £7,000.
Auctions have already been held for rare £5 notes and £10 notes with one for rare £50 notes taking place on July 24.
A number of other rare £20 notes sold for thousands of pounds today as well.
This is a list of the first five rare banknotes sold at the Spink and Son auction today:
- EH 01 000002 – £7,000
- EH 01 000003 – £4,500
- EH 01 000004 – £4,500
- EH 01 000005 – £3,500
- EH 01 000006 – £4,000
Bear in mind, it’s unlikely you’ll end up with one of the above banknotes in your spare change.
Spink and Son said most people who buy these rare notes at auction are usually veteran collectors who don’t intend to resell them.
That doesn’t mean they might not crop up on eBay at some point though, so keep an eye out for them in your spare change.
Some of the new King Charles III notes with lower serial numbers have already started selling on the website for up to £3,600.
The rare £5, £10, £20 and £50 King Charles III banknotes tend to sell for high amounts because of their low serial numbers.
But don’t worry if you don’t have this type of note in your spare change as there are other sought after serial numbers.
Arnas Savickas, from auctioneers Spink and Son, told The Sun serial numbers with solid blocks are worth a lot to collectors.
So, if you find one with a serial number 111111, it could be worth a lot of money.
A banknote with a serial number featuring an eight or the six digits being a block of eights could fetch a lot too.
Other valuable serial numbers
Some Jane Austen £5 notes, which came out in 2017, can fetch decent sums, with plenty of collectors keen on them.
Serial numbers 16 121775 and 18 071817 are particularly valuable because they are the author’s birth and death dates.
Also, the £20 notes released in 2020 featuring artist JMW Turner, so serial numbers with his birth date – 1775 – can sell for big amounts.
If you find one starting with an A that also includes his birth date that should be worth even more.
For example, one special serial number to keep an eye out for is 1775 1851 which combines the painter’s birth and death date.
There are also sets of serial numbers that always prove popular regardless of who is on the note, for instance, 007 for James Bond or AK47.
AK47 notes have been listed for as much as £160,000 but most have been selling for about £100.
How to sell a rare banknote or coin
It is not just rare banknotes that exist, but rare coins as well.
There are three ways you can sell either of the legal tender – on eBay, Facebook, or in an auction.
If you’re selling on Facebook, there are risks attached.
Some sellers have previously been targeted by scammers who say they want to buy a rare note or coin and ask for money up front to pay for a courier to pick it up.
But the courier is never actually sent and you’re left out of pocket.
Rather than doing this, it’s always best to meet a Facebook seller in person when buying or selling a rare note or coin.
Ensure it’s a public meeting spot that’s in a well-lit area and if you can, avoid using payment links.
Most sellers prefer to deal with cash directly when meeting to ensure it’s legitimate.
The safest way to sell a rare coin or note is more than likely at auction.
You can organise this with The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service.
It has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.
You can get in touch via email and a member of the valuation team will get back to you.
You will be charged for the service though – the cost varies depending on the size of your collection.
You can also sell rare coins and notes on eBay.
But always bear in mind, you will only make what the buyer is willing to pay at that time.
You can search for the same note or coin as you have to see how much the same one has sold for on the website previously.
This can help give you an indication of how much you should sell it for.
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