A TINY marking on your £5 note could mean you are sitting on a goldmine worth thousands.
It’s easy to miss but each banknote has a serial number which seems to be just a string of digits.
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However, collectors highly prize notes with specific serial numbers, and the recent auction highlighted just how valuable these can be.
Ones with quirky numbers, such as AK47 have been listed for as much as £160,000 but most have been selling for about £100.
Even ones with AK46 have been listed for hundreds of pounds.
Sets of notes with consecutive serial numbers – two notes with the serial numbers AA01090561 and AA01090562 sold for more than £50 on March 12.
Valuer Paul Murray, an auctioneer at Warwick & Warwick which holds regular auctions of bank notes said that prices could vary.
He said: “You see it all the time with these notes.
“If you look on Ebay for the AK47 notes you see people asking for £1,000, well at the end of the day they are actually worth £5.”
Money specialist website Change Checker says the phenomenon of people spending big money on banknotes depends on the notes having “an interesting story behind them”.
It said: “AA01 banknotes were part of the first batch of banknotes printed or serial number AK47 have been particularly popular thanks to the machine gun connotations.
“It really is just personal preference and what someone is willing to pay to have a certain banknote in their collection.”
OTHER VALUABLE NOTES
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.
HOW TO SELL A RARE NOTE OR COIN
It is not just rare banknotes that exist, but rare coins as well.
There are three ways you can sell either of the legal tender – on eBay, Facebook, or at auction.
The first two have a marketplace and are popular platforms, but auctions remain the safest and often most profitable route.
The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service can authenticate and value your note, although this service comes with a fee.
Selling on platforms like Facebook does carry risks, especially regarding scams.
Always meet in public, well-lit areas, and prefer cash transactions to avoid fraud.
Auction houses, while taking a commission, offer a secure and reliable way to sell high-value items.
What are the most rare and valuable coins?
Next time you receive a note, take a closer look at the serial number.
That tiny marking could turn your fiver into a small fortune.
And make sure to check your coins to see if they are a rare or limited edition worth over a hundred times their value.
As more notes featuring King Charles III enter circulation, the chance of finding a valuable serial number increases.
Stay vigilant, and you might just hit the jackpot.