Perfectly preserved £5 banknote dating back to 1863 is set to fetch £12,000 at auction

A £5 note dating back to 1863 is set to fetch up to £12k when it goes under the hammer at auction next week.

For despite being 157 years old, the banknote is in such pristine condition that it is almost as if it had been printed yesterday, according to the auctioneers.

The spectacular Bank of England £5 note dating from 28 December, 1863 is among the highlights of an online/ live auction of British, Irish and World Banknotes at Dix Noonan Webb, the international coins, medals, banknotes and jewellery specialists of London’s Mayfair, on Wednesday, October 28, on their website www.DNW.co.uk.

Probably the finest quality early black and white note the cataloguer has ever seen, it is signed by Matthew Marshall and is estimated at £10,000-12,000.

Andrew Pattison Head of Department, Banknotes at Dix Noonan Webb, said: ‘ When it was printed in 1863, this Marshall £5 represented the absolute height of Victorian technology.

‘All of the recent advances in paper making, printing and watermarking, are all clearly visible in this beautiful banknote. In fact, this exact design was used until 1956 – a further 93 years and the fact that it has survived in this condition – almost as if it had been printed yesterday – is miraculous.’

Another important Bank of England note in the sale is a £1 ‘Gold Note’ dating from 1914, signed by John G. Nairne. 

With the serial number A/1 000000, this is an exceptional uncirculated example of this rare proof type – one of around only 15 to survive today – and carries an estimate of £6,000-7,000.

The sale of 1060 banknotes includes examples from all over the world. One of the finest known examples of a Qatar & Dubai 100 Riyal – almost uncirculated and a classic rarity in this kind of condition is estimated at £9,000-12,000, while from the Government of Iraq, an impressive 100 Dinars note from 1936, with a magnificent portrait of King Ghazi is expected to fetch £10,000-15,000.