A RARE £10 banknote bearing the face of King Charles III has sold at auction for £17,000.
The legal tender fetched the giant sum at a charity auction held by Spink and Son on behalf of the Bank of England (BoE) today.
New banknotes featuring the monarch have already started entering circulation via a number of Post Offices.
They will slowly replace notes bearing the face of the late Queen Elizabeth II as these become worn or if there is an increase in demand.
But some of the new notes entering circulation are worth much more than their face value due specific serial numbers they have on them.
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The £10 notes making their way into wallets and purses with the prefix HB 01 are particularly valuable.
The prefix is found on the bottom right hand corner of each note, with the entire serial number used to date and identify the note.
Earlier today, auctioneers Spink and Son sold off some of the rare £10 notes produced by the Bank of England (BoE) in a special auction.
And one banknote with the serial number HB01 000002 went for a staggering £17,000.
Four other rare £10 banknotes sold for up to £5,500.
This is what their serial numbers are:
- HB01 000003 - £5,500
- HB01 000004 - £2,400
- HB01 000005 - £3,200
- HB01 000006 - £2,700
Bear in mind, it's unlikely you'll end up with one of the above banknotes in your spare change.
Spink and Son said most people who buy these rare notes are usually veteran collectors who don't intend to resell them.
That doesn't mean others with slightly higher but still low serial numbers won't crop up on eBay at some point though, so keep an eye out for them in your spare change.
Some of the new King Charles III notes with lower serial numbers have already started selling on the website for up to £3,600.
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Most of the time, it is notes with low serial numbers that are the most valuable.
This isn't always the case though.
If you stumble on a banknote of any denomination with an eight at the end of the serial number or a block of eights, it could fetch a lot.
Serial numbers with solid blocks are worth a lot to collectors too. So, if you find one with a serial number ending in 111111, for example.
Other valuable serial numbers
Some Jane Austen £5 notes, which came out in 2017, can fetch decent sums, with plenty of collectors keen on them.
Serial numbers 16 121775 and 18 071817 are particularly valuable because they are the author's birth and death dates.
Also, the £20 notes released in 2020 featuring artist JMW Turner, so serial numbers with his birth date - 1775 - can sell for big amounts.
If you find one starting with an A that also includes his birth date that should be worth even more.
For example, one special serial number to keep an eye out for is 1775 1851 which combines the painter's birth and death date.
There are also sets of serial numbers that always prove popular regardless of who is on the note, for instance, 007 for James Bond or AK47.
AK47 notes have been listed for as much as £160,000 but most have been selling for about £100.
How to sell a rare banknote or coin
It is not just rare banknotes that exist, but rare coins as well.
There are three ways you can sell either of the legal tender - on eBay, Facebook, or in an auction.
If you're selling on Facebook, there are risks attached.
Some sellers have previously been targeted by scammers who say they want to buy a rare note or coin and ask for money up front to pay for a courier to pick it up.
But the courier is never actually sent and you're left out of pocket.
Rather than doing this, it's always best to meet a Facebook seller in person when buying or selling a rare note or coin.
Ensure it's a public meeting spot that's in a well-lit area and if you can, avoid using payment links.
Most sellers prefer to deal with cash directly when meeting to ensure it's legitimate.
The safest way to sell a rare coin or note is more than likely at auction.
You can organise this with The Royal Mint's Collectors Service.
It has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.
You can get in touch via email and a member of the valuation team will get back to you.
You will be charged for the service though - the cost varies depending on the size of your collection.
You can also sell rare coins and notes on eBay.
But always bear in mind, you will only make what the buyer is willing to pay at that time.
You can search for the same note or coin as you have to see how much the same one has sold for on the website previously.
This can help give you an indication of how much you should sell it for.
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