Rare notes go under the hammer

IT may only have been worth a fiver when it was issued, but a banknote is set to be sold for around £600 at auction next month.

At more than 100 years old, it is a rare survivor from the golden days of private banking in Exeter. Collectors are expected to bid up to £600 and possibly beyond for the note, which was drawn on the City Bank in Exeter's Cathedral Yard in 1888.

A £1 note from Exeter's General Bank will also go under the hammer
PAST TIMES: The old City Bank in Cathedral Yard in Exeter and, below, the £5 note that is to be auctioned
The £5 note from Exeter's City Bank, pictured right, could fetch £600

Cathedral Yard was the site of the first bank to be established in Exeter in 1768 and several notes from it are included in the sale.

The auction in London on Tuesday, April 13, which also includes notes from Honiton, is being conducted by leading numismatic auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb. The firm's bank note expert Mike O'Grady said they represented "a real opportunity to own a slice of local history".

"When the City Bank £5 note was in circulation, the bank was probably more important than the Bank of England was, for that was just a local bank in London. Local banks, like those in Exeter, were the most successful because people would know the families behind the bank. There would be trust and confidence in them.

"This note would have been printed by specialist security engravers as at this time forgery was a major concern, with even the possession of a forged note carrying the death penalty."

The City Bank opened in Cathedral Yard in 1786. It fell victim to a major robbery in 1800, resulting in payments being suspended for two months. The General Bank started business in Exeter in 1792, initially in Fore Street and then at South Street. A £1 note from this bank, dating back to 1822, is estimated to fetch £300-350 at the auction.

Mr O'Grady said: "Bank notes are different from most ancient artefacts in as much as the newer they are, the more valuable they are, simply because only a few banks lasted as independent note producers. If they survived to the late 19th century, they were doing well."