1. Bank of England £10 note dated 15th April 1912.

The Bank of England large size white notes are well known and popular with collectors,issued in various values until World War 2, and as £5 notes until 1956. Each issue had a uniqueserial prefix combination and specific date. This particular date was to become memorable as thedate the RMS Titanic hit the iceberg and sank. £10 notes were high value and issued in limitednumbers and pre-WWI examples are particularly rare. This is probably the only extant example ofthis date. Although unlikely to have been carried aboard, after the tragedy there were numerousclaims on the Bank by survivors and relatives of those who perished regarding notes or lifesavings lost at sea. The Bank was sympathetic to the claims and paid out in full.

2. Treasury Bradbury £1 autographed banknotes signed by WWI Allied Army leaders.

Four English Treasury Issue banknotes have been reunited after being signed by warleaders and personalities auctioned off for charity in 1918. Originally sold by a provincialnewspaper to raise funds for starving prisoners of war, the notes are contemporary One Poundnotes, three of which have original accompanying letters. The notes show manuscript signaturesof Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig, French General and Supreme Allied Commander FerdinandFoch, French President Poincaré, and Admiral Beatty.

3. Abraham Newland £2 Bank of England banknote from 1800

£1 and £2 notes were first issued by the Bank of England during the restriction period1797-1826 to preserve gold stocks during the Napoleonic wars. Only a handful of £2 banknotesare now thought to have survived, and this one dated 1800 issued under the Chief CashierAbraham Newland is a lovely example of such a survivor. The lot comes with a Bank letter from1870 stating that the note was still outstanding, and a recent check of the appropriate ledger inthe archive has confirmed it is still unpaid. That someone thought to keep the note in Victoriantimes having checked out its validity when it could easily have been cashed in makes it now animportant item, although if presented to the Bank for payment now I am sure they would bedelighted to encash it for its face value.

4. Guernsey Overprints from 1941 on One Pound Notes.

The Channel Islands being overrun by the German Army during World War II led to ashortage of small change on the island of Guernsey. To alleviate the difficulties faced by theislanders it was agreed to issue a quantity of coin, and an equivalent holding of UK notes by thelocal bank was set aside. Each of around 5000 withdrawn £1 notes were overstamped as shown,dated September or November 1941. Sometime after liberation these notes appeared on thecollector market and have been popular ever since. All the serial numbers have been recorded,and the sale features a good selection.

The Mark T. Ray Collection of English Banknotes is to be auctioned by Spink, London on 8thOctober. Catalogues available online through https://www.spink.com/auction/20021 or at:https://d3ums4016ncdkp.cloudfront.net/auction/catalogue/20021/20021.pdf