Paper money auction at Coinex features Commonwealth

By Arthur L. Friedberg

Published: Sep 26, 2016, 4 AM

The week of Coinex, the international coin show in London organized by the British Numismatic Trade Association, will include a 790-lot auction of world paper money by Dix Noonan Webb on Oct. 3. Among the highlights is a $50 specimen note of the Malaya and British Borneo Board of Commissioners of Currency.

Original images courtesy of Dix Noonan Webb.

A $50 specimen note of March 21, 1953, from the Malaya and British Borneo Board of Commissioners of Currency, is expected to be a highlight of the Dix Noonan Webb auction.

Images courtesy of Dix Noonan Webb.

stratford-upon-avon-10-pound-note-dnw-face

Among the most interesting lots is a £10 note from the Stratford-upon-Avon Old Bank branch of the Stourbridge & Kidderminster Banking Co. depicting William Shakespeare.

Images courtesy of Dix Noonan Webb.

The week of Coinex, the international coin show in London organized by the British Numismatic Trade Association, will include a 790-lot auction of world paper money by Dix Noonan Webb on Oct. 3.

The DNW auction is almost equally divided between notes of Britain, Scotland, and Ireland, and those from the rest of the world.

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Two specimen notes are expected to fetch the most, with estimates of £1,000 to £1,500 ($1,300 to $1,950) each, are a pair from the Malaya and British Borneo Board of Commissioners of Currency. One is a $50 note of March 21, 1953, perforated with SPECIMEN and graded Good Very Fine to Extremely Fine. The other is a $1 note of March 1, 1959, perforated SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE with a grade of Good Extremely Fine to About Uncirculated.

At £10,000 to £15,000, a Bank of Taiwan 50-yen in silver note from 1901 is the standout item in the world category. The note is the highest denomination in its series. It has four hole punches and the characters MI-HON stamped in red. It is called extremely rare and is described as grading Good Very Fine with some folds and creases.

One session is devoted to issues of the British Isles. Far from the most expensive, with just a £260 high estimate, but among the most interesting lots is an About Uncirculated £10 note from the Stratford-upon-Avon branch of the Stourbridge & Kidderminster Banking Co. It has a half-length facing bust of the town’s most famous export, William Shakespeare, at its center.