I’ve been taken aback by the appearance of an unfamiliar portrait in my wallet.
New King Charles III bank notes and coins are starting to filter into general circulation.
Queen Elizabeth II had such a long reign and her portrait on our money is so familiar it’s quite disconcerting.
In fact, Charles is now the second monarch to ever appear on British bank notes.
A King Charles III 50p. Very nice, but is it likely to be worth much?
But are these new notes and coins potentially valuable?
Or just new and novel?
An auction this week realised nearly £1 million.
And all they sold was King Charles III bank notes.
What does that mean for you though?
Coin and banknote collecting and modern money
First of all, let’s have a look at that big-money auction.
We notice it was for charity, so perhaps some buyers were willing to pay more than they otherwise might have done to back good causes.
And the sellers were the Bank of England.
The Bank of England is the issuing authority for all UK money.
These notes were as mint as can be, direct from the source.
And they were selected to be attractive to buyers.
The notes had a face value of around £78,000 and made over 11 times that amount.
Modern money is rarely very valuable.
It is simply too available to be worth much.
Something has to make it special.
One of the notes sold in this charity auction had the serial number HB01 00002. It made £17,000.
(King Charles has the full set of 00001 serial number notes.)
Some of the notes were sheets from the production process.
But, these aren’t the only King Charles III notes and coins to be sold for well over their face value.
Look online and you'll see online marketplaces selling "early" notes for decent sums.
To be honest, some of these sales amount to scams, claiming that notes have a value to collectors they will never realise.
Should you check your wallet and pocket?
Of course.
Most coin and note collectors will be all over their change in any case.
It’s a good habit to get into.
It is very unlikely that you will find anything really valuable, but it’s a more-than-zero chance and I think you should be looking at your cash.
There's always something to learn about design, condition and ageing.
You should also collect what you like and find interesting.
Not everything has to be about high values.
And keeping your first King Charles III note is a nice personal landmark.
Those who want something smarter can look at the Royal Mint’s presentation sets.
As to value…
This is a very long shot.
There are a small number of modern UK currency issues that have value in the decades after their issue and while they are still legal tender.
Some 50ps, for example - take a look at our list here.
And £2 coins too.
Errors do get through even today.
In 2008 a batch of undated 20p pieces were accidentally released. They have some value and are worth looking out for.
I found a French 20-cent piece in my change recently. It doesn't have any value, but it shouldn't have been there and coins can turn up in the strangest places.
So have a quick check. What have you got to lose?
When it comes to notes, there is a small market in notable and low serial-numbers.
What sells is hardly a science.
Low numbers, round numbers, numbers with a resonance - an AK 47 note recently raised quite a bit on eBay, 007 might have value.
This to me seems like passing craze stuff rather than anything more substantial.
If you find a very low number it might be worth keeping.
Something that stands out? If you’re already active in online selling it’s probably worth advertising it and seeing what happens.
But for serious collectors with a view to a long lasting collection the best bet is to assemble a set of the new notes in the best condition you can manage for your complete UK collection.
Buying rare British coins and notes
We have a large collection of rare and historic British notes and coins.
We don’t show all of it online. But you can see some of what we have here.
