Four special £5 notes, engraved with a tiny portrait of author Jane Austen, are being put into circulation and could be worth more than £20,000.
The first of four notes featuring art by specialist micro-engraver Graham Short was spent in Kelso in the Scottish Borders on Monday. Three more notes will be spent in England, Wales and Northern Ireland this week. Mr Short's last work, a portrait of the Queen on a pinhead, sold for £100,000. The artist came up with the idea of engraving a 5mm portrait of Pride and Prejudice author Jane Austen on the transparent part of the new plastic Bank of England £5 notes, to mark the 200th anniversary of Austen's death next year. He has included a different quote around each one, ensuring that each note is unique. Anyone finding one of the notes has been advised to contact the Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery in Kelso, which launched the project. Mr Huggins-Haig told BBC Scotland that the notes could be worth tens of thousands of pounds at auction.....Read more here