LONDON.- An extremely rare £500 Bank of England note that was issued in Liverpool in 1936 was sold for £12,000 in the inaugural auction of British and Irish Banknotes at Dix Noonan Webb, the international coins, medals, banknotes and jewellery specialists on Thursday, March 28, 2019 at their auction rooms in central Mayfair (16 Bolton St, London, W1J 8BQ).

The fine example was estimated to fetch £8,000-12,000 and is one of only 10 to 15 examples known to be in private hands [Lot 185].

Andrew Pattison Head of Department, Banknotes at Dix Noonan Webb, noted: “This first dedicated sale of British and Irish material at DNW achieved an excellent overall result of over £360,000 (including Buyers Premium). Bank of England material from all eras and at all price levels was extremely strong, with several notes hitting the £10,000 mark. Early Irish notes are enjoying something of a renaissance as well, with stronger than average prices achieved for many of the rare and more common items alike. The first part of the Sir David Kirch Collection of Jersey also achieved some excellent prices, particularly for the rare or unique early material dating back to the early 1800s.”

Other notable highlights included a very fine example and exceptionally rare wartime £1 note from the States of Guernsey, £1, dating from 15 October 1918, which sold for £9,600 against an estimate of £4,600-£5,500 [Lot 717], while an extremely rare Bank of England, £5 dating from 13 August 1833, sold for £11,400 (Est: £7,000-9,000) [Lot 123] and a Bank of England, £5 from Newcastle on Tyne, dated 16 July 1889, one of only two examples known in private hands – sold for £10,200 [Lot 125].

*All prices quoted include Buyers premium of 20%