RARE SET OF THREE IRISH BANKNOTES ALL BEARING SERIAL NUMBER 000001 TO BE OFFERED AT NOONANS

Three extremely rare Irish banknotes, all bearing the serial number 000001 will be among the highlights of Noonans auction of British and Irish Banknotes on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. The trio of extremely special notes - a set of Ploughman notes (£10, £5 and £1) issued by the Royal Bank of Ireland, all bearing serial number 000001 are expected to fetch £8,000-10,000; £6,000-7,000 and £4,000-5,000 respectively [lots 407-405].

As Ted Edmunds, Banknote Specialist at Noonans commented: “Given the rarity, condition and serial number, we believe this set of £1, £5 and £10 are arguably the finest set of Irish notes ever offered at auction.”

Among the Scottish section of the auction is a Pudsey £5 note from the Bank of Scotland, dating from July 2015, with serial number PUDSEY05 which is estimated at £5,000-7,000 [lot 500].

As Andrew Pattison, Head of Noonans Banknote Department commented: “The ‘Pudsey’ notes are the rarest polymer banknotes ever issued. In the decade since they were first auctioned for Children In Need, the value of the mere 50 notes produced has rocketed, and collectors are sure to be willing to bid heavily for this example with serial number 5.”

Within the section devoted to English banknotes are several examples from the Bank of England. A rare £5 note that was issued in Hull on October 11, 1900, and signed by Chief Cashier Horace G. Bowen is estimated at £15,000-£20,000 [lot 104]. While an excessively rare £10 note signed by Abraham Newland and dated 29 October 1798 with the serial number 249, is estimated at £12,000-£16,000 [lot 98]. Other regional Bank of England notes include an incredibly rare £100 note that was issued in Leeds, dating from 13 August 1929 and signed by Basil G. Catterns – of which only four are known (Estimate: £7,000-£9,000) [lot 125], while a very fine and exceptionally rare £20 note, dated 28 June 1918 and signed by Ernest M Harvey, that was issued in Birmingham, with only two examples known – carries an estimate of £4,000-£5,000 [lot 112].

From the Isle of Man is an extremely rare £1 note dated 1 October 1891 which is estimated at £8,000-£10,000 [lot 679], and from the States of Guernsey, a superb example of an incredibly rare emergency First World War Issue 5 Shillings (6 Francs) banknote dating from 5 August 1914, is estimated at £4,000-£5,000 [lot 761].