Incredibly rare £100 banknote from a century ago found in ‘spectacular’ condition & set to sell for eye-watering sum

A RARE £100 note from a century ago is set to sell for an eye-watering sum.

The note, which is said to be in “spectacular” condition could fetch up to £30,000, auctioneers said.

PAThe £100 bank note is expected to fetch many times its face value when it is auctioned[/caption]

The note’s face value is £100 and it was signed by Horace G Bowen who was chief cashier between 1893 and 1902.

Andrew Pattison, head of the banknotes department at Noonans Mayfair auctioneers, said it was one of only two surviving banknotes with a value above £5 signed by Mr Bowen and issued outside of London.

He added: “It would be a jewel in the crown of almost any 19th century banknote collection.”

The sale is at Noonans on Thursday, March 14.

The Bank of England had a branch in Birmingham from 1827 which was relocated three times before it closed in 1997.

The sale will also include a variety of banknotes from English provincial banks as well as banks in Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

A £500 note from October 1929 has been given a sale price of £20,000-£24,000 and is the only known surviving £500 note signed by Basil G Catterns, who was chief cashier of the Bank of England between 1929 and 1934.

How to spot rare coins and banknotes that could be worth hundreds

Rare coins and notes hiding down the back of your sofa could sell for hundreds of pounds.

If you are lucky enough to find a rare £10 note you might be able to sell it for multiple times its face value.

You can spot rare notes by keeping an eye out for the serial numbers.

These numbers can be found on the side with the Monarch’s face, just under the value £10 in the corner of the note.

Also if you have a serial number on your note that is quite quirky you could cash in thousands.

For example, one seller bagged £3,600 after spotting a specific serial number relating to the year Jane Austen was born on one of their notes.

You can check if your notes are worth anything on eBay, just tick “completed and sold items” and filter by the highest value.

It will give you an idea of what people are willing to pay for some notes.

But do bear in mind that yours is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.

This is also the case for coins, you can determine how rare your coin is by looking a the latest scarcity index.

The next step is to take a look at what has been recently sold on eBay.

Experts from Change Checker recommend looking at “sold listings” to be sure that the coin has sold for the specified amount rather than just been listed.

People can list things for any price they like, but it doesn’t mean it will sell for that amount.

We explain further how you can find out if you have a rare coin worth thousands sitting around the house.