Who knew a fiver could be worth so much?
What is going on with English currency right now? First we were told that shops are refusing the new five pound note and then we found out we're getting a new pound coin and it looks totally different. Now we've discovered that five pound notes with Jane Austen's face plastered on them are worth a staggering £50,000.
Artist Graham Short carved tiny portraits of the famous novelist into four of the new five pound notes and then travelled around England to spend them at various locations so the notes would end up in circulation, giving regular Joes such as you and I the chance to get our hands on them.
Short's work usually sells for around £100,000 and each of the engraved notes have been insured for £50,000, meaning if you do get one you could be looking at a nice tidy profit of £49,995.
The first note was found in South Wales by an elderly art fan (who has chosen to remain anonymous) and keep the note as an investment for her granddaughter. More recently, the second rare five pound note was found by a student (who has also decided to remain anonymous) in a Christmas card (though we're guessing the gifter didn't quite realise what they were giving away).
The hunt for the final two remaining notes continues across the UK. If you're lucky enough to find one of the remaining notes, which contain an image of the author surrounded by a unique quote from one of her infamous novels, then you should contact the Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery in Kelso.
Jane Austen is also set to replace Charles Darwin as the face of the new ten pound note, which will be released later this year.
This isn't the first time the humble five pound has been worth a lot more than it's face value, either. When the new five pound note first came out everyone frantically started searching for notes with a serial number starting AA, as they were selling for THOUSANDS of pounds on eBay.
Don't believe us? A rare five pound note with the serial number AA01 sold for a sweet £4,150 at auction, whilst another note with the code 'AK47' sold for a whopping £80,000 on eBay.
Let us not forget the five pound note that was going for the price of an actual house in London, either. Yes, someone has put up what they believe to be the ultimate rare five pound note and asked for a whopping £300,000 for it on eBay.
What makes this five pound note the rarest of all five pound notes? According to the seller, AA01 is the first serial number, 666 is the devil's number, there are 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week. So we have to admit, it does boast some pretty sweet credentials. Sadly the seller has yet to receive a single bid though.
However, we wouldn't be too surprised if they had to lower their price to something slightly more realistic. After all, this fellow serial code 666 five pound note owner is asking for a more modest (though still rather ridiculous) £50,000.00.
Although the second owner of the rare five pound note doesn't have the perks of their note being one of the first in distribution (it's ONLY an AL53, guys), the rest is pretty cool.
As the owner observes, the 53 represents the coronation year of Queen Liz, the 666 is obviously the sign of the devil and the 282 could signify the 2nd of April 1982 Falklands War.
If you ask us, we think this might be a bit of a stretch, but the people want what the people want.
