Banknotes sell for a staggering £972,761 at Newbury auction
The auction of bank notes last week at Special Auction Services was the best ever at the Newbury auctioneers, with 100 per cent of the lots being sold for a staggering £972,761.
The important collection of hand-drawn and painted bank notes went under the hammer at Special Auction Services in Newbury on October 24 and 25 and will continue in May 2024, had been expected to fetch over £250,000.
The top lot was 107 which sold for £64,480.
The Government of Iraq specimen 100 Dinars, circa 1931, with three signatures, no serial number, red Bradbury Wilkinson SPECIMEN overprint to face, one cancellation hole, crisp, clean condition, some evidence of slight crinkling along edges, and some folding at top left and bottom right corners, and a larger crease running diagonally across the bottom right corner, through portrait, minor rounding of corners had been estimated at £500-800.
SAS director Neil Shuttleworth said: "We have been preparing this auction for two years and knew how important these amazing design essays and specimen bank notes are, but even so, we were amazed by the reaction of the collectors.
“We are looking forward to the next part of the auction in May 2024"
The bank notes were collected and some were designed by artist Derek Friday who in the 1950s left the RAF and began as an apprentice in the design department of Bradbury Wilkinson and these were from his personal collection now being sold as part of his estate.
The notes dating from the 1880s to the late 1980s were from Banks across the world including Angola, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Hong King, Kenya, Greece, Luxembourg, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda and Vietnam.
Several examples from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand were offered for sale including the original designs for the face and reverse of a £50 and the 20 Zeal notes as well as the early-stage designs for the £50, £10 and £5 notes.
Other highlights of the original artwork include a pair of original hand drawn design essays in pencil, ink and watercolour for the faces of the Bank of Zimbabwe’s 5 Zi and a 10 Zi notes, hand drawn design essays for the face and reverse of a Bank of Yemen 100 Rials note c1970s as well as a pair of original design essays for the face and reverse of a £1 note, circa 1910 - 1936, George V .
Neil Shuttleworth said: “When Derek started working on the designs in the 1950s there were obviously no computers, and all notes were hand drawn and painted.”
Alongside the original artwork, the sale also included a great selection of specimen bank notes from all over the world and dating from 1887-1989 which would have been used for training purposes in banks ahead of the launch of the new notes. Produced as proofs they do not have a legal value or serial numbers. Recently a specimen bank note from the Bank of Saudi Arabia sold for a record price and shows how the interest in Notaphily is really gaining in popularity.
Also in the collection was an essay for a Ghanian Ten Cedis bank note which went into circulation in 1979 and provoked a huge deflation of their currency and sparked huge revolt!
