NOONANS sell THE MOST EXPENSIVE BANKNOTE DEPICTING QUEEN ELIZABETH II FOR A HAMMER PRICE OF £150,000 (S$260,000) IN THE THIRD AND FINAL PART OF THE frank goon collection of british malayan banknotes

A $1000 note bearing Queen Elizabeth II from the Board of Commissioners of Currency of Malaya and British Borneo was sold for a staggering £150,000 (S$260,000) by London’s specialist auctioneers’ Noonans in Singapore on Saturday, March 22, 2025. This was the most expensive note to bear the portrait of Elizabeth II as Queen and is the first time that this particular note has been offered for sale at public auction. Dated 21 March 1953, it had been estimated at S$100,000-150,000 (£60,000-£90,000) and was being sold as part of the sale of the third and final part of the legendary Frank Goon Reference Collection of British Malayan Banknotes – one of the greatest collections of all time [lot 134].

As Andrew Pattison, Head of the Banknote Department at Noonans said: “The interest in this note was unsurpassed by anything we’ve seen during the sale of the Frank Goon Collection. Collectors were coming to see it just to say they had seen it, taking selfies with it and some even had group photos holding it!”

He continued: “The bidding started at top estimate and rapidly climbed to the top bid of S$260,000 (£150,000), with three different bidders very near the top.  Two of the bidders, including the buyer, attended the sale.  It was purchased by a long-term collector who loves rare and beautiful notes, and anything relating to Queen Elizabeth II, making this incredible item a perfect fit.  The remarkable price achieved has smashed all previous world records for Queen Elizabeth banknotes and is now the most expensive note in this popular field to ever sell at auction.”  

The three parts of the Frank Goon collection, which has covered banknotes of Malaya, The Straits Settlements, Sarawak, British North Borneo, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei, comprised 784 notes and has realised a combined hammer total of £3.2million.