A scarce £100 note from the Birmingham branch of the Bank of England, dated May 1894, sold for a hammer price of £38,000 (about $65,498 Cdb) at Noonans Mayfair in a sale of British and Irish banknotes on March 14,
Signed by Horace G. Bowen, Chief Cashier between 1893 -1902, Lot 114 was one of only two surviving Bowen notes above £5 issued anywhere other than London.
Following the sale, Andrew Pattison, head of the Banknotes Department at Noonans commented: We are extremely pleased, but actually not too surprised by how well the note sold. It is just such a rare note, with the magic combination of Bowen signature, £100 denomination, and Birmingham issue location, and the condition was wonderful. It sold to a passionate collector of rare UK notes who is delighted with his purchase.”
Elsewhere in the sale a rare, if not unique £500 note d(lot 142) ating from October 1929 sold for a hammer price of £36,000 (about $62,050 Cdn). It was the only known surviving £500 note signed by Basil G Catterns, who was Chief Cashier between 1929-1934 and was being sold by a long-time collector of British notes who has owned it for almost 15 years.
A very rare £5 note from the Bank of England branch in Bristol dating from June 1850 sold for a hammer price of £19,000 (about $32,750 Cdn.) It was signed by Matthew Marshall, who was Chief Cashier between 1835-64. It was stamped issued by Tugwell, Clutterbuck and Ricardo, who were a local bank in Bath [lot 113].