A rare Bank of England £10 note dating from 1895 is expected to fetch £26,000 at auction this month. The note, signed by Chief Cashier Horace Bowen, is believed to be the only example of its kind in private hands.
Andrew Pattison, an auction expert, said the note represented a very large sum at the time, worth around £1,300. 'This was several months wages for many people,' he said, adding that most would never have seen such a note.
The same sale includes a £5 note issued by the Bank of England's Birmingham branch in 1856, priced at £22,000. It is one of the first of a redesigned series introduced in 1855, and is thought to be the only Birmingham-issued example remaining in private hands.
Also on offer is a £2 note listed at £16,000. Mr Pattison described it as a fascinating note from the French Revolutionary Wars, noting that the Bank of England was forced to issue small-denomination paper money to finance the wars with France. He added that its condition is exceptional.
Among the Irish notes in the sale is a Bank of Ireland £1 note issued in 1831 in Newry, Dublin and Armagh, with an estimate of £10,000. The note was previously known to exist, but no example had ever been seen.
