Exact detail to spot on rare new King Charles banknotes revealed ahead of auction – after one sells for £11,000

NEW bank notes featuring King Charles III’s face are entering circulation – but some are worth more than others.

His Majesty’s portrait is appearing on the existing designs of all four banknotes, with no other changes made.

The switch from currency bearing the face of the late Queen Elizabeth II will be gradual.

New notes with the King’s face on will only be issued to replace worn-out ones or to meet an increase in demand.

The first new-look notes are being circulated through Post Offices if you are keen to snap one up.

But some entering circulation are worth much more than their face value, and you could fetch thousands of pounds for them.

Every banknote with the King’s face on features a unique serial number which is used to identify and date it.

The serial number starts with a four-digit prefix, and with each pre-fix there are 999,000 notes printed and put into circulation – from 000001 to 999000.

The Bank of England (BoE) has already revealed what the lowest serial numbers are on the new King Charles notes for the four different amounts. These are:

• £5: CA 01 000001 
• £10: HB 01 000001
• £20: EH 01 000001
• £50: AJ 01 000001

You won’t be able to get your hands on any £5, £10, £20 or £50 notes with the above serial numbers as they aren’t entering circulation.

But, you might be able to land one with the following serial numbers:

• £5: CA 01 000003
• £10: HB 01 000002
• £20: EH 01 000002
• £50: AJ 01 000003

If you land one of these serial numbers you might be able to get thousands of pounds for the note.

These notes are working their way into circulation in the coming weeks and months.

You can also snap up the notes with these rare serial numbers on them at three auctions being hosted by Spink and Son.

The auctions are being held on behalf of the Bank of England.

One for the rare £10 notes is taking place tomorrow (June 27), while two more auctions will take place on July 11 and July 24 for the £20 and £50 notes respectively.

An auction for the low serial number £5 notes was held on June 13, with the highest-selling £5 note going for a giant £11,000.

Dozens of low serial number notes were auctioned off on the same day.

After the £11,000 note, the nine next most valuable banknotes sold for up to £7,000.

It’s worth noting, the notes sold at the Spink and Son auctions are unlikely to end up in general circulation.

The auctioneer said most people who buy these rare notes 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 low serial numbers have already started selling on the website for up to £3,600.

What makes the above notes so valuable is that they have low serial numbers.

But that doesn’t mean if you’ve not got one with a low figure, it won’t be worth a lot.

If you stumble on a banknote of any denomination with an eight at the end of the serial number or a block of eights, it could fetch a lot.

Serial numbers with solid blocks are worth a lot to collectors too. So, if you find one with a serial number ending in 111111, for example.

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 at 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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