Serial numbers to look out for on new King Charles bank notes that could be worth a fortune
These are the serial numbers of the new King Charles III banknotes that could be worth a fortune in the future.
Banknotes featuring the Charles III are set to head into circulation from today (5 June) with the King set to be the latest monarch featured on a Bank of England note, following on from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was the first in 1960.
While Charles will only be the second reigning monarch to feature on a banknote, the notes themselves have changed massively in the past couple of years, as older paper notes were switched out with the new polymer ones.
So what's all the fuss about new banknotes and serial numbers, then?
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Similar to people who collect special edition coins, searching for new banknotes is actually a very lucrative hobby, with certain serial numbers being prized possessions for collectors.
According to This is Money, the Bank of England has now confirmed the first serial numbers for the King Charles III notes that you need to keep an eye out for.
The article notes that every £5, £10, £20 and £50 serial number will feature a four-digit prefix that reveals the date it was printed.
Meanwhile the suffix ranges from 000001 to 999000, corresponding to the 999,000 notes printed.
The bank went on to reveal the first full serial number for each of the four notes printed, which are:
£5: CA 01 000001
£10: HB 01 000001
£20: EH 01 000001
£50: AJ 01 000001
It's important to note that none of the notes featuring the exact serial numbers listed above will be in circulation, as well as notes ending with 000003 or 000004, as the notes with the lowest serial numbers are handed to the King, the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, the designer of the note, and the chief cashier of the Bank of England.
However keep an eye out for any notes containing the prefixes CA01, HB01, EH01 or AJ01, as these could be worth a lot of money.
Still not convinced that bank notes with certain serial numbers can fetch more than their original value? Turns out that notes with kept in good conditions with prized serial numbers can fetch hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
One of the early polymer notes featuring Winston Churchill sold for £4,150 at an auction in 2016. Talk about £5 well spent!
Outside of low serial numbers, ones that feature a specific collector's birthday or have a relevance to the design of the note could also sell for more than its worth.
"Depending on the serial number of the note - it's reasonable to assume that the lowest serial number of a £5 could fetch between £250 to £500, while £10 and £20 notes could go for £500 and £1,000 respectively. A £50 then could go for several thousand pounds," Arnas Savickas, head of banknotes at Spink & Son, told This is Money.
Looks like it's time to get banknote hunting then.
Brenna Cooper