AN OLD banknote has sold for an eye-watering price 3,200 times its original value.
The exceptionally rare currency was issued more than a century ago and it could now fetch thousands.
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The old £5 banknote is valued by collectors for being among very few still in perfect conditions.
The valuable item dates back to July 12, 1900 when Horace G Bowen was chief cashier of the Bank of England.
Auctioneers said there are very few notes from his tenure in private hands – making extremely sought-after by treasure hunters.
It boasts a unique design from with a black and white stamp – worth £390 in today’s money.
The note was issued by the Bank of England branch in Leeds and it was later paid and stamped in a bank 25 miles away in York.
The note has a message printed on the surface specifying the value.
It read: “I promise to pay to Bearer on demand the sum of Five Pounds here or in London.”
The unique find was in the collection of British businessman Sir David Kirch who sold it a decade ago.
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But now a major collector has put it back on the market sparking a bidding war among antiquities enthusiasts at London-based auctioneers Noonans.
Head of Noonans banknote department Andrew Pattinson, said: “This is a great note.
“Very few Bowen notes are in private hands especially from this exceptionally rare Leeds branch.
“The York hand stamp shows part of the journey of the note, issued in Leeds and paid into a bank at some point in York.
“This note was sold by Sir David Kirch as part of his collection a decade ago when it was sold to the current owner, who is a major collector of notes from all over the United Kingdom.”
Historians claimed the first ever £5 banknote of the Bank of England was issued in 1793.
At the time, the note was stamped to compensate for the gold shortage caused by the French Revolutionary Wars.
The old £5 banknote is tipped to sell for an eye-watering £16,000 – which is 3,200 times its original value.
The sale is set to take place on October 12.
It comes as another “error” 50p coin has sold for more than 400 times its face value after garnering dozens of bids.
Rare coins and bank notes regularly sell for hundreds and occasionally thousands of pounds because there’s a limited amount in circulation.
Meanwhile, Brits were urged to check their pockets for a rare 50p coin which is worth up to 140 times its face value.
Only 109,000 copies of the EU Presidency 50p coin were minted – making it rarer than the famous Kew Gardens 50p coin.
Rare coins and valuable notes – is yours worth a mint?
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