NOONANS sell rare indian banknotes recovered from a shipwreck fOR MORE THAN DOUBLE THEIR PRE-SALE ESTIMATE

Two 10-rupee banknotes that were recovered from the wreck of the SS Shirala, which was sunk by a German U-boat on 2 July 1918 sold for more than double their pre-sale estimates at Noonans Mayfair on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, in a sale of World Banknotes.  They were each estimated at £2,000-2,600 but fetched hammer prices of £6,500 and £5,500 respectively [lots 474 and 475].

As Andrew Pattison, Head of Banknotes Department at Noonans commented: “The two notes were bought by collectors of Indian notes, within India. There was interest from multiple very serious collectors, with the amazing story of the notes certainly providing an added incentive to bid.” 

Prior to the sale, Thomasina Smith, Worldwide Head of Numismatics at Noonans, explained: “Whole blocks of these notes, along with lots of provisions ranging from marmalade to ammunition, were on their way to Bombay from London when the boat was sunk by a German U-Boat. Many notes floated to shore, including unsigned 5 and 10 Rupees, and signed 1 Rupees (one of which also features in this auction). Most were recovered and subsequently destroyed by the authorities and new ones were printed to replace them, however a very few examples remained in private hands.”

She continued: “I have never seen notes like these before – and these only came to light after the Bank of England mentioned about the shipwreck on social media. They were in very good condition – they must have been in the middle of a tightly bound bundle, so didn’t make contact with the sea. It’s also wonderful that they bear consecutive serial numbers.”