On Wednesday, Spink completed a substantial sale of rare banknotes, offering currency from around the world. It was a large auction, and a successful one, with the 1,315 selling for a total hammer price of £1.39m.
One of the key lots hailed from Paul Fraser Collectibles' own home town of Bristol, UK: A Bank of England £5 note, printed in this fair city in February 1892 in black and white.
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The piece in question is the Duggleby plate note, and this is an extremely fine and an extremely rare branch issue on a very rare type of banknote. Excited notaphilists quickly pushed it past its estimate with the £15,000-18,000 note selling for £29,000.
Probably the two other most notable sales were both Palestinian notes - reflecting the popularity which has been shown at Spink before for Palestinian currency.
A blue and pale green £10 note issued on 1st September 1927 which shows the White Tower at Ramleh at the left side of the obverse likewise cruised past its estimate. Almost very fine and extremely rare (one of just ten known), it left the stage for £20,000 against a listing of £10,000-12,000.
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Leaving both of these standing however was a 1929 issue £50 Palestinian note in purple and pale green. Previously a part of the famed Sidney L Olsen sale it is one of the finest known to exist and eased past its £40,000-50,000 listed to achieve £60,000.
It appears that banknotes are increasingly showing their potential as an investment. Spink, as we've reported, will be selling a collection of banknotes, many with a military connection, on Sunday (October 3), and it will be well worth watching.
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