REVIEW: BANKNOTES: 2025

Noonans presented the third part of the Frank Goon Collection on 22 March – a catalogue of astonishing quality and breadth – as well as putting together a two-day bonanza of British & Irish banknotes, its largest ever such offering, on 15 and 16 October.

These were just two of the highlights across nine banknote auctions in 2025, culminating in the exceptional results for Qatari die proof notes on December 5.

Less dramatic, but no less significant, was the world record set in the 13 March British & Irish Banknotes sale when a £100 note from the Macclesfield & Cheshire Bank sold for a hammer price of £4,000. Dating from 1840, it sold to an enthusiastic collector of English banknotes. Andrew Pattison, Head of the Banknote Department at Noonans, had dubbed it ‘the finest provincial note ever offered at auction’ and the bidders clearly agreed.

His expert view was that “the strong interest in the Bank of England notes really highlights the current strength of the market for the finest English banknotes.” It was an assessment that proved accurate throughout the year, not least in the £30,000 paid for each of three more Bank of England notes in the same sale, and the £30,000 paid during the 15 and 16 October auction for an extremely rare £500 Bank of England note – one of only four examples known to exist – signed by Cyril P. Mahon and dated 15 December 1925.

Although not a British & Irish banknote, another lot that took £150,000 (S$260,000) during the 27-28 August auction staged in Singapore did carry the late Queen’s image.

It was a $1000 note from the Board of Commissioners of Currency of Malaya and British Borneo, offered as part of the Frank Goon Reference Collection of British Malayan Banknotes – one of the greatest collections of all time. Setting a record for the most expensive note to bear the portrait of Elizabeth II as Queen, it was also 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).

As Andrew Pattison 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!”

The three parts of the Frank Goon collection offered at Noonans covered banknotes of Malaya, The Straits Settlements, Sarawak, British North Borneo, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei. In all, they comprised 784 notes and took a combined hammer total of £3.2 million.

Hitting the headlines on 28 November was a group of six very rare banknotes (die proofs) from the Qatar Monetary Agency all dating from 1981, that were never circulated.

“It was the first time that anyone had ever seen proof notes from this series, which are rarer than the first issue, and the level of interest was significantly beyond what we were expecting – and that was pretty high anyway!” said a delighted Andrew Pattison.

The set provides a unique insight into the De La Rue design process for these choice uncirculated notes, which in every case featured no serial numbers or signatures, had ‘QATAR’ typewritten, and carried colour information, and the date ‘25/11/80.’ in the fields of both proofs.
 
“Three or four bidders contested the notes up to the halfway mark, at which point it turned into a dogged battle between two bidders for each note. I am happy to say that the eventual buyer secured the whole set, so they will remain together.”

While estimates ranged from as low as £1,000 to as high as £3,800, the hammer prices proved way beyond that, ranging from £20,000 up to £60,000, with a total for the set of six of £230,000.

As well as the headline lots, Noonans have always made space for smaller, but no less fascinating single-owner collections in their catalogues. One such was the Laurence Pope collection of Portuguese Colonial banknotes – the creation of a true enthusiast – which appeared in the 27 November World Banknotes sale.

Pope’s contribution to the study of Banknotes includes the recently published catalogue, The Portuguese African Paper Money of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino. Part sponsored by the third party grading company PMG, it now forms a useful reference work, especially as PMG agreed to add the catalogue’s numerous sub-references in green print in the lower right corners of the holder strips.

Expect more British & Irish Banknotes in the March 2026 auction, as well as a further round of single-owner collections.