An Iraq specimen note that was printed in India during the Second World War is expected to fetch at least £70,000 when it is offered at Noonans Mayfair on the first day of a two-day sale of World Banknotes on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.

Described by Andrew Pattison, Head of Banknote Department at Noonans: the Iraq 100 Fils specimen was printed by the Nasik Press in India during the Second World War and given to the Director-General of Finance, Abraham Elkabir.

He continues:

The specimen 100 Fils dating from 1941 with the serial number O/00 000000 is decorated with a portrait of King Faisal II as a baby at right carries an estimate of £50,000-£70,000 [lot 499], while a specimen 50 Fils from 1944 with the serial number A000000 and a portrait of King Fasial II as a baby is expected to fetch £30,000-£40,000 [lot 500]. They are being sold by a descendant of the original recipient, who is still named Elkabir.

The sale will also include the first major part of the Peter Holland Collection, which is a superb group of world notes from China, Hyderabad, Ceylon, and Sweden, as well South Africa. Many of these notes have not appeared in auction anywhere for well over a decade.

Included will be the highest denomination Swedish note ever produced and only a handful survive. From the Sveriges Riksbank in Sweden, the 10,000 Kronor note dates from 1939 and carries an estimate of £10,000-£14,000 [lot 907].

As Andrew Pattison explains:

Also from the Holland Collection is a unique copy of a 5 Rupee note issued in 1881 in Ceylon (Sri-Lanka) by a British Bank, the Oriental Bank Corporation and is estimated to fetch £6,000-£8,000 [lot 247].

Mr Pattison notes:

For more information, see:
https://www.noonans.co.uk/