BANKNOTES could be worth bumper sums way above their value with a “cut”, an auction has shown.
A £100 note from 1855 has gone under the hammer for a jaw-dropping £32,000, attracting big bids due to a rare cut down the middle.
When the £100 was issued by the Liverpool branch of the Bank of England 169 years ago, it was worth such value that it was cut in half for safe transport.
A £100 note in those times would have the same purchasing power as £9,027 in today’s money, according to a Bank of England calculator.
But the market valued this note – featuring the rare cut – now worth a staggering £32,000 at a Noonans auction.
After being trimmed down the middle for security, it was taped back together at its destination, so the buyer gets the full note 169 years on.
It also sports the signature of Matthew Marshall, who was Chief Cashier of the Bank of England between 1835 to 1864.
It is one the highest denominations that he signed, according to the auctioneers, with the sale beating the estimate of £24,000-£30,000.
It wasn’t the only rare note to attract an eye-popping price.
A tenner from 1882 signed by Frank May – a disgraced chief cashier – went for an immense £26,000.
A third – a £1000 note from 1922 signed by Ernest M Harvey – reeled in a winning bid of £28,000, smashing the forecast £18,000-£20,000.
Mr Harvey was the Bank of England’s chief cashier from 1918-1925.
The identity of the buyers was not made public, but Noonans head of banknotes Andrew Pattison revealed they were snapped by “pre-eminent” cash collectors.
He added: “All three comfortably exceeded their estimates because the market for such rare items is going from strength to strength.
“Newly published information regarding the minuscule surviving quantities of such banknotes (many are unique survivors) is giving bidders a well-founded sense of security when spending larger amounts.
“Additionally, these notes come up for auction so infrequently, if ever, that bidders are clearly concluding that they need to take the chance when offered, as they may never see another!”
Noonans is advertising a series of forthcoming auctions for rare and historical cash.
Shillings dating back to the 1600s will be auctioned on July 11, while in August, a bunch of old banknotes from around the world are set to spark more bidding battles.
