RARE LIVERPOOL £500 NOTE SELLS FOR £12,000 IN AUCTION DEVOTED TO BRITISH & IRISH BANKNOTES

 

An extremely rare £500 Bank of England note issued in Liverpool in 1936 sold for £12,000 in the inaugural auction of British and Irish Banknotes at Dix Noonan Webb, on 28 March. Estimated to fetch £8,000-12,000, it is one of only 10 to 15 examples known to be in private hands.

Andrew Pattison Head of Banknotes, said: “This first dedicated sale of British and Irish material at DNW achieved an excellent overall result of over £360,000 (including Buyer's Premium). Bank of England material from all eras and at all price levels was extremely strong, with several notes hitting the £10,000 mark. Early Irish notes are enjoying something of a renaissance as well, with stronger than average prices achieved for many of the rare and more common items alike. The first part of the Sir David Kirch Collection of Jersey also achieved some excellent prices, particularly for the rare or unique early material dating back to the early 1800s.”  

Other notable highlights included a very fine example and exceptionally rare wartime £1 note from the States of Guernsey, £1, dating from 15 October 1918, which sold for £9,600 against an estimate of £4,600-£5,500, while an extremely rare Bank of England,  £5 dating from 13 August 1833, sold for £11,400 (Est: £7,000-9,000) and a Bank of England, £5 from Newcastle on Tyne, dated 16 July 1889, one of only two examples known in private hands – sold for £10,200.