Man queues for hours to get hands on first new £10 notes – and makes £250 within hours by selling them on
A coin and note collector braved the streets of London last night to get his hands on some of the first £10 notes - and he's already doubled his money.
First in the queue was Seamus O’Dwyn, from Surrey and he has already made more than £250 from selling the new plastic tenners.
The 49-year-old coin and note collector arrived at 6.30pm last night to make sure he was able to pick up a bundle of the new notes which features author Jane Austen.
He said: “I wanted to be one of the very first people in the country to touch them. I’ve already sold 26 on eBay at £19.50 each to buyers in place like Australia and Singapore."
He claims that most of the buyers are from overseas and that there isn't much demand in the UK.
The cash fanatic also plans to give some notes away to charity too.
He was one of hundreds of people who queued up at the Bank of England this morning, with the doors opening at 8am.
When the new fiver launched last September, notes with low serial numbers were trading for hundreds of pounds on eBay shortly afterwards – and it seems that the mania shows no signs of slowing down with the launch of the new note.
Fellow seller, Tony Gowton, 57, who turned up at 4am, was also there to turn a profit.
He said: “I’m here to try and make some money form the note itself. There are collectors in the queue but most here are buyers and sellers.
“It’s a bit like the gold rush. You’ve got to sell them straight away as the demand will drop within two or three weeks.
"I sell mine on eBay and hoping to triple or double my money. People are interested from all around the world.
“I’m already looking forward to the next one – when the new £20 note is launched in two years’ time.”
Just over one billion polymer £10 notes have been printed ready for issue but it takes time for them to enter circulation in shops and cash points.
How to tell if your new £10 note is worth thousands of pounds
SOME new notes could be worth THOUSANDS of pounds, if they have a low serial number or distinctive one. We explain.
As with the £5 note, those with the AA serial numbers will be popular with collectors.
This means there are millions of AA combinations that could crop up.
ChangerChecker.com claims that the notes collectors should be looking out for are:
- The serial numbers 16 121775 and 18 071817 as they represent the author’s date of birth and death.
- The serial number 17 751817 as it’s her birth and death combined
- The 28 011813 as it’s the date when her most celebrated novel, Pride and Prejudice, was first published.
While the serial numbers JA01 and JA75 (Jane Austen’s birth year) and JA17 (the year of Jane Austen’s death) may be popular too, but it could take many years before the notes enter circulation.
There may also be a rush to find the AK47 and James Bond 007 notes too.
Notes with consecutive numbers, eg, AA12345, are also popular with collectors too
For more information on valuable notes and how to sell them on eBay read our guide.
The new banknotes are expected to last at least two-and-a-half times longer than the current paper £10 notes, around five years in total, and stay in better condition during day-to-day use.
The old £10 note is expected to be withdrawn from circulation in Spring next year.
Earlier this year the Bank confirmed that new notes would include a small amount of animal fat despite protests from campaigners and vegans.
Not everyone in the queue was there to sell there notes on straight away.
Chris Neild from Kent was there to simply to pick up some for his collection.
He said: “I’m a note collector and just really interested in the art of the note and the security features.
"The new £20 note will featuring artist JW Turner will launch in 2020."
More on valuable notes and coins
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