An extremely rare £500 note printed by the Bank of England nearly 90 years ago could sell for more than £20,000 when it goes under the hammer.
The banknote, from 1936, is the first of its kind to ever be sold at auction and only the second one known to exist. It was only available from three Bank of England branches - London, Liverpool and Leeds - and as yet none have ever come to light, experts say.
Of those that have been printed, the ones from the Leeds branch where this note was made, are the rarest. Kenneth O. Peppiatt, who was a chief cashier at the Bank of England at the time, signed the note and it is expected to fetch between £18,000 and £22,000.
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Andrew Pattison, head of the banknote department at Noonans Auctioneers in Mayfair, central London, said today: "It is indeed a fantastic note.
"£500 notes are very rare, and in fact only available from three Bank of England branches - London, Liverpool and Leeds, although some were issued in Birmingham and Manchester - none have ever come to light."
The proceeds will be donated to an animal welfare organisation in the United States called Humane Animal Partners, which was recently created by the merger of the Delaware SPCA with the Delaware Humane Association.
The auction will be held on March 1 and 2.
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