London, August 13, 2024, The Europe Today: A series of auctions featuring banknotes with a face value of £78,430 has generated more than 11 times that amount, raising £914,127 for charity. The auctions showcased new £5, £10, £20, and £50 notes, the first to feature the image of King Charles III, which entered circulation in June.
While King Charles received a full set of the first issues, each with a serial number ending in 000001, hundreds of other banknotes with low serial numbers were auctioned off. Among the highlights was a £10 note with the serial number HB01 000002, which sold for an impressive £17,000.
Another standout item was a sheet of 40 connected £50 notes, with a face value of £2,000, which fetched £26,000—a record for any Bank of England auction.
The auctions, conducted by Spink in London, attracted considerable interest from collectors, who prize banknotes with serial numbers as close to 000001 as possible. This strong demand contributed to the remarkable sums raised during the four sales.
The proceeds from the auctions will be shared equally among 10 charities selected by the Bank of England:
- Childhood Trust
- The Trussell Trust
- Shout
- Carers UK
- Demelza
- WWF-UK
- The Brain Tumour Charity
- London’s Air Ambulance Charity
- Child Bereavement UK
- The Samaritans
Sarah John, the Bank of England’s chief cashier, whose signature appears on the notes, expressed her delight at the outcome, calling it a “remarkable” achievement.
The introduction of these banknotes marks the first time that the monarch has changed on Bank of England notes. Queen Elizabeth II was the first monarch to routinely appear on the Bank’s notes, beginning in 1960. In contrast, the monarch does not feature on banknotes in Scotland.
Despite the decline in the use of physical money, the number of people primarily using cash for everyday spending has reached a four-year high during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, according to UK Finance. Additionally, post offices handled a record £3.77 billion in cash transactions in July, and HSBC has pledged not to announce any new branch closures until at least 2026.
The success of these auctions reflects both the historic significance of the new banknotes and the enduring interest in collectible currency. The funds raised will support a range of important charitable causes across the UK.
