Rare £1 million banknote to be auctioned

A rare £1 million banknote issued in 2003 will go on auction later this month.

A very rare £1 million banknote is expected to fetch £10,000 at auction.

It sounds like a no-brainer, really - who wouldn't trade in £10,000 for £1,000,000?

Unfortunately the note, which was issued in September 2003, isn’t worth its face value because it has been stamped ‘cancelled’ by the Bank of England, hence the estimated auction price.

Where did the note come from?

The note will be auctioned in the Dix Noonan Webb auction house in London on 24th April 2014. The note was given to a printer (who remains anonymous) by the Treasury, in recognition of his work for the Government. It is the third note for this sum to ever be put up for auction; the other two were issued after World War II, as part of the Marshall Aid Plan. One of these was auctioned in 2008, fetching a winning bid of £78,000.

The Bank of England holds a number of £1 million and £100 million notes, which are referred to as 'giants' and 'titans' respectively. These are used to guarantee the value of notes issued by commercial banks in Northern Ireland and Scotland. 

The note is signed by Andrew Turnbull, who was the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury at the time. 

Somewhat ironically, as the £1 million note slumps to 1% of its original value, a one pound note from The National Bank of Scotland, dated 15th May 1832, is expected to be bought for between £7,000 and £8,000 on the same day.

£1m banknote picture courtesy of Dix Noonan Webb.

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