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King Charles III banknotes raise £914,127 for good causes

Melanie May | 13 August 2024 | News

Credit: Bank of England (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic)
Credit: Bank of England (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic)

Auctions and a public ballot for King Charles III banknotes have raised £914,217 for ten UK charities this summer.

Held by Spink & Sons for the Bank of England, four auctions took place, for £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes, with Bank of England Chief Cashier and Executive Director of Banking, Sarah John, opening the bidding on the first lot for the £5 auction. 

The benefitting charities are the Bank of England’s current three charities of the yearThe Childhood TrustThe Trussell Trust and Shout, as well as Carers UK, Demelza, WWF-UK, The Brain Tumour Charity, London’s Air Ambulance Charity, Child Bereavement UK and Samaritans. The additional seven are previous charities of the year that had not benefitted from the proceeds of a charity polymer banknote auction held since 2016. Each charity received over £91,400.

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The auction broke the record for the highest lot sold in a Bank of England banknote auction with a £50 sheet going for £26,000. This was followed by the £10 auction where a single note with the serial number HB01 00002 sold for £17,000.  

Bank of England King Charles notes

Sarah John, Chief Cashier and Executive Director of Banking said:

“I am thrilled that the auctions and public ballot of low numbered King Charles III banknotes have raised a remarkable £914,127 that will be donated to ten charities chosen by Bank of England staff. Each charity does incredible work and the monies raised will have a positive impact on people and their communities across the UK.”

The King Charles banknotes mark the first time the Bank of England has changed a monarch on its banknotes. The late Queen Elizabeth II was the first monarch to appear, beginning with its Series C £1 banknotes in 1960.

The banknotes are a continuation of the current series with the serial numbers starting from the next available cypher following those previously used for notes featuring Queen Elizabeth II.

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