New King Charles £20 note sells for £7,000 – here’s what to look out for

A King Charles III £20 note fetched a staggering £7,000 at a charity auction held by the Bank of England this week. The event showcased some of the “rarest” notes available and also passed on information about what could make some notes even more valuable than the number printed on them.

The first notes bearing the image of King Charles III were released earlier this month, with those bearing specific serial numbers being particularly sought after by collectors. Each banknote carries a unique serial number for identification and dating, consisting of a four-digit prefix followed by six digits, the Mirror reports.

These can be found in the lower right corner of each note. For each prefix, 999,000 notes are printed and distributed, ranging from 000001 to 999000.

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The charity auction highlighted banknotes with the rarest serial numbers. The ticket bearing the code EH 01 000002 fetched £7,000 at this week’s auction. Other rare serial numbered notes also sold for between £3,500 and £4,500. The top five sellers were:

• EH 01 000002 – £7,000
• EH 01 000003 – £4,500
• EH 01 000004 – £4,500
• EH 01 000005 – £3,500
• EH 01 000006 – £4,000

The auction for £5 notes and £10 notes took place in June. A sale for rare £50 notes is scheduled for Wednesday 24 July.

It is unlikely that the sold notes will ever find their way into your wallet. According to Spink and Son, most buyers at these auctions are seasoned collectors who have no intention of reselling their purchases.

However, Arnas Savickas of auctioneers Spink and Son noted that some King Charles tickets with lower serial numbers have started to appear on sites such as eBay. He stated that solid block serial numbers are very valuable to collectors, so it pays to be vigilant when handling cash.

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