A rare banknote featuring a young Queen Elizabeth II was among nearly 160 lots of rare banknotes that raised £85,860 at auction after being donated to a British Heart Foundation charity shop in Edinburgh. The collection was sold by specialist auction house Noonans on October 14, with the proceeds going towards lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases.
Rare Queen Elizabeth II banknote among collection highlights
The collection was issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency Malaya and British Borneo. Other highlights included an extremely rare 1947 Iraqi 10 Dinars colour trial and a 1961 specimen 100 Riyal note from Saudi Arabia. The collection featured specimen and trial banknotes from countries across the world, including a rare uncirculated note featuring a portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II.
How the rare banknotes reached an Edinburgh charity shop
The remarkable collection, comprising almost 160 lots of rare specimen banknotes from around the world, was generously donated in albums to the charity's Edinburgh shop on Straiton Retail Park.
After the shop team spotted something special about the collection, its potential significance was recognised and the notes were passed to specialist auction house Noonans, where they went under the hammer on Wednesday 14 October.
Auction raises £85,860 for British Heart Foundation
The auction raised £85,860, turning this generous donation into a significant contribution towards the BHF's lifesaving work. Noonans waived its vendor commission for the auction, helping ensure more of the proceeds would support British Heart Foundation's work.
British Heart Foundation thanks donor and auction house
Allison Swaine-Hughes, Chief Commercial Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: "We are absolutely thrilled that this extraordinary collection has raised over £85,860 for British Heart Foundation. We are incredibly grateful to the donor who chose to entrust these remarkable banknotes to us, and to our brilliant shop team in Edinburgh who recognised that there was something very special about this donation.
The collection was issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency Malaya and British Borneo
"It's wonderful to think that a collection generously handed into one of our charity shops can go on to raise such a fantastic amount for lifesaving research. Every pound raised through our shops helps us fund lifesaving research and this will help create a legacy that benefits both collectors and the millions of people affected by cardiovascular disease.”
"And a huge thank you to Noonans for their expertise and generosity in supporting the sale and waiving their vendor commission. This has been a truly special donation and we couldn't be more grateful to everyone who helped turn it into such an incredible result."
Noonans highlights strong interest from banknote collectors
Andrew Pattison, Head of Banknotes Department at Noonans said: “It was a great privilege to handle this exceptional group of specimens and trials on behalf of the British Heart Foundation. The biggest thanks must go to all our bidders, all of whom are passionate banknote collectors. Material of this quality is extremely rare and collectors all over the world have responded extremely well, with many of the notes selling for that little bit more than normal on account of the charitable nature of the sale. Everyone at Noonans would like to thank the British Heart Foundation for their trust, and for allowing us to be involved in this enterprise. To see the notes achieve such exceptional results, knowing that the proceeds will go towards funding vital and far-reaching research is hugely gratifying to all involved.”
The auction raised £85,860 for the British Heart Foundation
Charity shop team surprised by collection's potential value
The anonymous donation was handed into the BHF home store in Edinburgh, where the team initially had no idea of its potential value. Shop manager David McCormack said: “When the donation came into the shop, we all looked through the folders but didn’t know much about the banknotes, so we sent them to our eBay team in Leeds to investigate. When we discovered their potential value, we were flabbergasted. It’s incredibly exciting to see a donation received by your shop raise such a significant amount for the charity, and we’re so proud the donor chose to give the collection to us.”The £85,860 raised will help the BHF continue to fund lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases.