How ultra-rare squiggle makes banknote 200 times MORE valuable – could you have one in your wallet?
AN ULTRA-RARE 169-year-old banknote is tipped to sell for a whopping £20,000 when it goes under the hammer.
The note’s unique squiggle means it is worth 200 times more than its original value.
The ultra-rare squiggle is from when the Bank of England deliberately sliced the note in two before sending it to the recipient in two different envelopes because it was so valuable at the time.
He then taped the £100 note – worth £15,000 today – back together and it became legitimate currency.
The ‘highest quality’ note was signed by Matthew Marshall, the chief cashier of the Bank of England between 1835 and 1864.
It is now going under the hammer at London-based auctioneers Noonans.
It’s still possible to see the line down the middle where the note was stuck back together again.
Andrew Pattison, head of the banknotes department at Noonans, said: “This remarkable note is of the highest quality and is dated from January 26, 1855, making it almost 170 years old.
“It is signed by Matthew Marshall who was Chief Cashier of the Bank of England between 1835 to 1864 and is one the highest denominations that he signed.
“The note has been cut in half and then taped back together.
“This is because £100 was so much money (around £15,000 today) that the two halves of the note were posted separately for security, and then put back together later on so the note could still be used.”
Also in the sale, a £10 note signed by the disgraced Chief Cashier Frank May in 1882 is valued at £20,000.
He remains the sole Bank of England Chief Cashier to have resigned due to scandal.
He lost the bank £250,000, the equivalent of £6million today, through speculation and unauthorised transactions.
An early £10 note signed by Abraham Newland from 1789 is estimated at £26,000, and a £1,000 note signed by Abraham Newland from 1922 could go for £20,000.
The sale takes place on June 26.
How to spot rare coins and banknotes that could be worth hundreds
Rare coins and notes hiding down the back of your sofa could sell for hundreds of pounds.
If you are lucky enough to find a rare £10 note you might be able to sell it for multiple times its face value.
You can spot rare notes by keeping an eye out for the serial numbers.
These numbers can be found on the side with the Monarch’s face, just under the value £10 in the corner of the note.
Also if you have a serial number on your note that is quite quirky you could cash in thousands.
Rare coins and valuable notes - is yours worth a mint?
- 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
For example, one seller bagged £3,600 after spotting a specific serial number relating to the year Jane Austen was born on one of their notes.
You can check if your notes are worth anything on eBay, just tick “completed and sold items” and filter by the highest value.
It will give you an idea of what people are willing to pay for some notes.
But do bear in mind that yours is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.
This is also the case for coins, you can determine how rare your coin is by looking at the latest scarcity index.
The next step is to take a look at what has been recently sold on eBay.
Experts from Change Checker recommend looking at “sold listings” to be sure that the coin has sold for the specified amount rather than just been listed.
People can list things for any price they like, but it doesn’t mean they will sell for that amount.
Rare £500 banknote sells for a staggering £28,000
By Louis Regan
Dating back to 1929, the note is the only surviving note signed by Basil G Catterns, Chief Cashier of the Bank of England.
The second highest currency during that period, the note would typically be traded between banks, merchants and wholesalers.
It was first pushed into circulation in 1725 and was legal tender until 1943.
The £500 note was signed off by the Chief Cashier because of its high value.
Because it was never cashed, the owner was likely extremely wealthy.
For over a decade, the banknote has been in the possession of a British collector and is tipped to spark a fierce bidding war when it goes under the hammer at London-based auctioneers Noonans.
Andrew Pattison, head of the banknotes department at auctioneers Noonans, said: “This is a staggeringly rare and important note, and it is in wonderful clean condition, especially considering it is now almost 100 years old.
“Anyone dealing with large sums of money back then might have had occasion to use one of these, but they would have been unheard of by regular people.
“The remarkable fact is that this was never paid into the bank again.
“For anyone who collects Catterns notes or indeed any Bank of England notes, this would be likely the pinnacle of their collection.”