Rare £50 King Charles banknote sells at auction for £14,000 – how to spot one in your change
A RARE £50 banknote has sold for £14,000 at auction – we reveal how you can spot one similar in your spare change.
The legal tender fetched the giant sum at a charity auction held today by Spink and Son on behalf of the Bank of England (BoE).
New notes bearing the face of King Charles III on one side have already started entering circulation.
The first ones were distributed among Post Office branches.
They will gradually replace old Queen Elizabeth II notes as these become worn or to meet an increase in demand.
However, some of the new notes entering circulation are worth keeping your eye out for more than others.
Each new printed banknote comes with a unique “serial number” which is 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.
But some serial numbers can make a note worth multiple times its face value.
For example, £10 notes with the prefix HB 01 and low six digits after are particularly valuable while £5 notes with the CA 01 prefix can be worth a lot of money too.
When it comes to £50 notes, those starting with the prefix AJ01 followed by six low digits can be worth thousands of pounds.
At the Spink and Son charity auction earlier today, a number of £50 notes with these low serial numbers were sold off to collectors, including those with the AJ01 prefix.
And one with the serial number AJ 01 000003 sold for £14,000.
The next four rare £50 banknotes that went up for auction were sold for the following prices:
- AJ01 000004 – £5,800
- AJ01 000005 – £5,800
- AJ01 000007 – £7,500
- AJ01 000010 – £4,000
You can find out how much the other rare £50 notes sold for on the Spink and Son website.
It’s worth bearing in mind the notes that sold at the auction today are unlikely to make their way into general circulation.
Arnas Savickas, from Spink and Son, said collectors usually snap up these notes without the intention of selling them on.
But, that doesn’t mean a note with that serial number, or one similar, won’t end up in your spare change at some point – and it could be worth thousands of pounds.
Bear in mind too, generally notes with low serial numbers are valuable, but not always.
Arnas previously told The Sun serial numbers with solid blocks are worth a lot to collectors.
So, if you find one with a prefix followed by a serial number 111111, for example.
A banknote with a serial number featuring an eight or the six digits being a block of eights could fetch a lot too, Arnas said.
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.
What are the most rare and valuable coins?
- Five rarest coins – do you have one?
- The 13 most valuable £2 coins in circulation
- How valuable are the rarest £1 coins?
- Most rare and valuable 50p coins in circulation
- Rare and most valuable 20p coins that could be worth up to £750
- Rarest 10p coins in circulation
- Rare 2p coins revealed
- How to check if you have a rare and valuable banknote
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