- Yesterday, new King Charles banknotes came into circulation for the first time
- Now some notes are selling for £150 on eBay
New banknotes with the portrait of King Charles III are already being offered by chancers on Ebay for as much as £150.
The notes entered circulation yesterday and could prove popular with collectors, who hope to get their hands on examples with low serial numbers while they are still in good condition.
The first batch of the presses will contain serial numbers starting with CA01 for £5 notes, HB01 for £10 notes, EH01 for £20 notes and AJ01 for £50 notes – followed by a six-digit number. This is Money was exclusively revealed yesterday.
The first notes are CA01 000001, HB01 000001, EH01 000001 and AJ01 000001, which were presented to the King.
A full set of new King Charles banknotes, with a denomination of £85, is on offer on eBay for £150
This money was found on eBay a £50 note with the serial number AJ02 468341 listed at £130.
While this £20 note with serial number EH07 419275 is listed for £50. In the meantime this £10 note, serial number HB23 692295is on offer for £39.
A £5 note with the serial number CA03 357672 is offered for £25. While a full set of uncirculated notes sells for £150.
Ebay sellers can list items at any price they choose – and hope to attract buyers, even though the serial numbers are insignificant.
And while these are asking prices that may not be met, a £10 note has already sold on eBay for £24, and at the time of writing a £50 note had already attracted bids of up to £89.
When it comes to how much the notes can sell for, the lower the serial number, the more collectible it will be, say experts at auction house Spink & Son.
Collectors and the general public can also get their hands on the new banknotes at a charity auction organized by Spink & Son on behalf of the Bank of England.
A selection of banknotes with low serial numbers will be auctioned in June and July.
The first auction will see £5 notes with low serial numbers go under the hammer on June 13.
Although the lowest serial number has yet to be revealed, auctioneer Spink & Son told This is Money that it will be an unprecedentedly low serial number, unrivaled by anything it has previously offered in the more than two decades it has been running charity auctions on behalf of the Bank of England. .
Arnas Savickas, head of banknotes at Spink & Son, told us: ‘Depending on the serial number of the note, it is reasonable to assume that the lowest serial number of £5 could fetch between £250 and £500, while £10 and £ 500 can yield. £20 notes can cost £500 and £1,000 respectively. A £50 could then yield several thousand pounds.’
The auction will take place on June 13 for a lot of 122 £5 notes, followed by an auction for £10 notes on June 27.
The £20 and £50 pound banknote auctions will take place on July 11 and July 25 respectively.