Britons are being urged to check their wallets for rare banknotes that could be worth thousands of pounds, as energy bills and food costs continue to rise. According to experts at Playcasion.com, an online comparison platform, certain £5 and £10 polymer notes with low serial numbers or unusual patterns are fetching high sums at auction.
Among the most valuable is the Jane Austen £10 note with serial number AA01 000010, which sold for £7,200 at Spink. Other early AA01 notes from the first print run have also achieved four-figure sums. For £5 notes, the AA01 000017 sold for £4,150 at a Bank of England charity auction, while AA01 000007 reportedly went for over £20,000.
Collectors are also paying a premium for notes with distinctive serial numbers. A £5 note with the prefix AK47 and a repeating pattern, such as AK47 747474, is said to have sold for around £13,000 on eBay. Similarly, a £5 note with all six digits the same, like 555555, has attracted offers above £3,000.
The rarest notes include the King Charles III £10 with serial HB01 000002, which hammered for £17,000, and a sheet of 40 £50 notes with AJ01 prefix, sold for £26,000 (face value £2,000). Instagram user @CoinCollectingWizard advises households to keep an eye on their change, as such notes can be found in everyday circulation.
