People are being urged to check their new five pound notes after engraved bank notes worth as much as £50,000 were circulated in a Willie Wonka-style ‘Golden Ticket’ giveaway.
Tiny portraits of Jane Austen have been added to four of the new Bank of England £5 notes by micro-engraver Graham Short.
The 70-year-old painstakingly carved tiny 5mm portraits of the novelist onto the polymer cash, next to the images of Sir Winston Churchill and Big Ben.
Classic quotes from Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park have also been engraved onto the notes, which went into circulation last weekend.
The outline of the golden engraving is visible to the naked eye - but a microscope will be needed to see it properly. Art experts are estimating that the four fivers could be worth up to £50,000 after collectors forked out thousands to buy notes with unusual serial numbers.
Graham previously hit the headlines when he engraved the words of the Lord’s Prayer on to the head of a pin. And his last work - a portrait of the Queen, engraved on a speck of gold inside the eye of a needle - sold for £100,000.
The four notes will all be distributed across areas of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland by Thursday, December 8.
One fiver has already been used at a cafe in Scotland while another is destined for a pub in Northern Ireland.
Graham said he may spend the other two in either Warwickshire or Gloucestershire before he puts the final one into circulation in south Wales. A fifth engraved note will be donated to the Jane Austen Society to mark the 200th anniversary of the classic novelists death next year.
Photo credit: Ferguson Media
Golden Ticekt quotes and their notes:
“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” - Emma - Serial number: AM32 885551
“To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.” - Pride and Prejudice - Serial number: AM32 885552 “
A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.” - Mansfield Park - Serial number: AM32 885553
“I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good.” Pride and Prejudice - Serial number: AM32 885554
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here