A series of banknotes which were among the first to feature the King have been auctioned for £914,127, with the proceeds going to several charities.
The notes, which had a face value of about £78,000, were among the earliest to be released featuring the new monarch after new £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes entered circulation in June.
One sheet of £50 notes went for £26,000, breaking the record for the highest lot sold in a Bank of England banknote auction.
Collectors look for banknotes with the lowest serial number possible – or as close to 00001 as they can find – which is why they paid above the odds for the notes.
The auction was carried out by Spink in London.
“Each charity does incredible work and the monies raised will have a positive impact on people across the UK.”
The list of charities is Childhood Trust, the Trussell Trust, Shout, Carers UK, Demelza, WWF-UK, the Brain Tumour Charity, London’s Air Ambulance Charity, Child Bereavement UK and the Samaritans.
Although the Bank of England started to produce banknotes in the 17th century, Charles’s mother, the late Queen, was the first British sovereign to be given the honour in 1960 on a £1 paper note.
The use of banknotes and paper cash is declining, with a recent survey for Link indicating that nearly half (48%) of people expect to see a cashless society in their lifetime.
Nonetheless, post offices handled a record amount of cash in July, with transactions totalling £3.77 billion.
