New rare £5 note has bids of more than £10,000 on eBay – here’s why you need to check yours too

A NEW polymer £5 note with a rare serial number has pulled in bids of over £10,000 on eBay - two days before the auction is due to end.

The note, which entered circulation in September last year, has the serial number AA01 444444 and appears to be a hit with note collectors as it has attracted almost 60 different bids from 16 different eBay users.

The after the seller emailed the financial website to notify them of the high number of bids.

People are now being urged to check their wallets and purses to see if they have a note with a low serial number as these are the most sought-after by collectors.

As The Sun Online reported, the low serial number notes were snapped up for as much as £300 on eBay when it first entered circulation in September.

The note with the lowest number offered to the public - AA01 000017 - was sold by the Bank of England in a charity auction for £4,150 in October.

There are 999,999 new fivers with the AA01 prefix and experts claim that the lower the serial or those with the same run of numbers are considered the most collectable.

Sellers of rare notes should remain cautious as there's no guarantee that they will get money after an auction ends on eBay.

Last year, Gareth Wright thought he had struck gold when he listed a £5 note with the serial number AK47 on eBay and it attracted a winning bid of £80,100.

But he was left disappointed when the buyer refused to cough up the cash.

A frenzy has also ensued after micro-engraver Graham Short left tiny portraits of Jane Austen on the new-style notes.

Notes with the engravings, which are visible to the naked eye but need a microscope to see properly, could fetch as much as £50,000, according to art experts.

Three of the notes have already been found with just one special note still in circulation.

The old £5 note will stop being accepted in shops from May this year.

Old notes can still be exchanged in banks but will no longer be considered legal tender.

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