Rare £5 notes worth up to £5,000 being sold on eBay – check if you have one

The serial number on your £5 note could be the key to unlocking a small fortune as collectors will pay huge sums for the right type - and they can be checked from the comfort of your own home

Brits are being encouraged to rummage through their wallets for rare £5 notes that could potentially be worth a staggering £5,000.

Collectors have been trawling the internet for rare coins and now notes with specific serial numbers, hoarding them in the hope they'll increase in value over time.

This resulted in a surge of £5 notes being sold on eBay and other online marketplaces. Among the most coveted notes are those with the 'AA01' prefix, indicating they're from the very first batch ever produced. However, these aren't the only £5 notes causing a stir online as those with the serial code AK47 are currently listed for sale between £1,000 and £20,000.

It's not just the serial numbers you need to watch out for though, as there are also a few limited edition £5 notes stamped with a Jane Austin engraving in circulation. These rare notes could fetch up to £20,000 - with bidders willing to part with as much as a house deposit for the prized possession. New £5 notes featuring King Charles have also started popping up on eBay for between £500 and £1,300 - with claims they include errors and misprints.

Banknotes bearing a portrait of King Charles III were first issued on 5 June 2024. Those featuring the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender and are co-circulating alongside His Majesty's notes. The Bank of England has issued a statement saying: "The portrait of the King appears on existing designs of all four banknotes (£5, £10, £20, and £50), with no other changes to the existing designs. This means you can check these notes in the same way you can check our polymer banknotes featuring Queen Elizabeth II.

"New King Charles III banknotes will only be printed to replace those that are worn and to meet any overall increase in demand for banknotes. Our approach is in line with guidance from the Royal Household, to minimise the environmental and financial impact of this change." Meanwhile, an expert has advised checking your £1 coins as there's a batch out there with two different dates on them, which could make them more valuable to collectors. You need to look for a £1 coin that has two different dates on it.

One date will be easy to find - appearing on the same side as the monarch’s head. The other will be etched into the rim of the other side of the coin in very small print. If these two dates are different, your coin could be worth putting up for auction. Specifically, keep an eye out for coins dated 2016 and 2017.

An expert, known online as the Coin Collector UK, took to TikTok to explain exactly what to look for. He said: "£2,500 if you manage to find this error on your 12 sided £1 coin. There are a few errors that can be found on your £1 coins.

"The main ones you want to be looking for is the dual dated £1 coin." He revealed a rare £1 coin error using a 2016 issue as an example. "So you can see, when we flip this over on the obverse side this is a 2016 version of the £1 coin," he explained.

"However some were made with the micro-lettering on the side with the date 2017. It is an extremely rare error. We only know of one that’s actually being sold to a buyer in Spain, and this sold for £2,500."

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