Exact rare detail to spot on new King Charles banknotes as one sells for £11,000 – how to check your change
A RARE detail on the new King Charles III banknotes could earn you thousands of pounds.
A few have managed to get their hands on his Majestey’s new notes and sold them for over four times their original value online.
Brits will be able to snap up the new £10 notes at an auction hosted by Spink and Son on June 27.
However, some notes will be worth more than others, with the owners being able to shell them out for £100s.
Every banknote features its unique serial number to identify and date it with a four-digit prefix.
For each prefix, there are 999,000 notes printed and put into circulation – from 000001 to 999000.
The Bank of England (BoE) already revealed in April what the lowest serial numbers are on the new King Charles notes for the four different amounts. These are:
- £5: CA 01 000001
- £10: HB 01 000001
- £20: EH 01 000001
- £50: AJ 01 000001
You will not be able to get your hands on any £5, £10, £20 or £50 notes with the above serial numbers.
Arnas Savickas, head of banknotes at auctioneers Spink and Son, said the most sought-after serial numbers for the four different notes will start from:
- £5: CA 01 000003
- £10: HB 01 000002
- £20: EH 01 000002
- £50: AJ 01 000003
If you land one of these serial numbers you could expect to earn potentially thousands of pounds.
Mr Savickas said some of the lowest serial numbers could sell for up to £10,000.
Following the auction in the coming weeks, two more will take place on July 11 and July 24 for the £20 and £50 notes respectively.
One seller made more than £35 profit after he sold a rare uncirculated £10 note on eBay.
Another two notes went for a whopping £150 after more than 30 people bid for it.
However, it’s not just low serial numbers that could make your King Charles banknote valuable.
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 included are worth a lot to collectors too. So, if you find one with an 111111 serial number, 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’s not just rare banknotes that can sell for plenty of cash, but 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.
Sellers have previously been targeted by scammers saying they want to buy a rare coin and asking for money upfront for a courier to pick it up.
But it’s a ruse to get money out of you and the courier is never sent.
To avoid this happening, it’s always best to meet a Facebook seller in person when buying or selling anything.
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 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.