A National Bank of Egypt 1 Pound 5.1.1899 note graded PMG Choice Very Fine 35 inspired a flurry of competitive bidding until it set an auction record at $66,000 to lead Heritage’s Oct. 16 World Paper Money Signature Auction.

This note features two camels on its face vignette in a popular image considered in Egypt to be a token of prosperity. The final result made it one of many notes in the auction that more than doubled its pre-auction estimate.

“The market continues to grow,” says Dustin Johnston, Senior Vice President of Numismatics at Heritage Auctions. “With one in five lots realizing more than twice the estimate, there is no better barometer to illustrate the growth than the incredible selection we presented in this auction.”

Another top performer also featured African animals, this time on the back. A Bank of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 10 Pounds dated 1.2.1961 and graded PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ had a herd of elephants shown, but the face was likely the reason the note sold for well over estimate. Notes bearing the February 1, 1961 date are the only ones to feature the signature of B.C.J. Richards. At the time of cataloging, it was the only such example graded in the PMG Population Report.

The nearly 500 lots realized a final total of $2,084,001.

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