Jane Austen £5 Note

[thelewisgang]

Apologies is this shows up twice. I clicked to post by nothing happened so I'm trying again...
I am sure most of you would have read about the Jane Austen £5 note & its probable value. There are only 4 in circulation & obviously most people would like to get their hands on one as their value is estimated to be thousands of pounds.
Interestingly, I found someone advertising one on eBay (still active). It has been on the BBC website & in various newspapers to say the four £5 notes have numbers starting with AM32 but this note on eBay starts with AM12. It has had 67 bids so far with two days to run & the highest bid is £300. Surely if the serial number isn't correct, this one cannot be genuine??

[Buenchico]

Here's a link:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Five-Pounds-Bank-of-England-Note-with-Jane-Austen-engraving-S-N-AM12-401-619-/152355949661?hash=item23791f4c5d:g:qh0AAOSwB09YS4O7

The engraving on that note is the Pride and Prejudice quote (“I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good”) which was engraved onto AM32 885554 by Graham Short (who started all the fuss). However his micro-engraving skill won't be unique so it looks like someone else has has copied his work onto AM12 401619.

So it's 'genuine' in that it does carry a 'Jane Austen' micro-engraving but a 'fake' in that the engraving isn't actually by Graham Short.

[vulcan42]

I thought defacing our banknotes was against the law (currency and banknotes act 1928)

[Gizmonster]

//// I thought defacing our banknotes was against the law (currency and banknotes act 1928) ////

Copied from the BBC website:

//// The Bank of England's website states that it is illegal to deface bank notes under the Currency & Banknotes Act 1928.
It says it is against the law to "deface our banknotes (by printing, writing or impressing upon them words, letters or figures, etc.), although the question of whether or not to prosecute in individual cases is up to the police and the courts".
In a statement, the gallery said it had contacted the Bank of England, which informed them that the notes were still legal tender.
It went on: "When it comes to the idea that this is currency defacement, it may well be in the eyes of the Bank of England, but to Graham and us at the gallery, we haven't done this maliciously, we've joined together for this event to bring goodwill to those lucky enough to find the notes."
They said their only motive was to spread "good faith and happiness" through the country. ////

[Buenchico]

That thought had also crossed my mind, Vulcan42:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/18-19/13/section/12

However a £200 fine for creating something worth tens of thousands of pounds might seem to be worth it ;-)

(The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 wouldn't apply because defacing a banknote isn't an indictable offence).

[Jackdaw33]

It used to be a hanging offence.

[Buenchico]

^^^ The 1928 Act actually imposed a maximum fine of £1:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/18-19/13/section/12/enacted

[Jackdaw33]

I suppose it all comes down to what you mean by 'defacing'. I often have notes with written figures on them where the teller has recorded the total.

[Buenchico]

When I was managing a bar I'd routinely write the total for each bundle of notes onto the top one. I'd sometimes have to seek out a blank space to do so because so many others had been there before me!

[Jackdaw33]

I believe that in the days of the old white fiver anyone presenting one was required to sign it on the back.

[malagabob]

Apparently one of these notes was circulating around Blackwood S Wales. And no one knew it's value. It was handed over as payment for a snack in a cafe then passed on as part of wages for a member of staff.