Rare Maltese £5 note trebles estimate to achieve $5,200 at Spink

A rare 1963 Maltese £5 note smashed its pre-sale estimate at the Laurence Pope Collection of World Banknotes auction at Spink today, April 12.

The blue prefix A/4 specimen, which features Pietro Annigoni's famed 1956 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, sold for £3,200, more than trebling its high end estimate.

Said to be the rarest note in the Annigoni series, Spink states that it is "almost unobtainable in this original uncirculated condition, the vast majority being pressed".

It also contains a signature from the currency board's Shepherd and depicts the Grand Harbour at Valetta on the reverse.

This Maltese rarity made £3,200

The note was produced just one year before Malta gained independence from the UK in 1964.

The entire auction made £179,305, with many bargains snapped up by investors.