Jane Austen £10 note may lead to good fortune

Shoppers are being urged to check the new £10 notes for serial numbers that could earn them thousands of pounds.

The notes are released on Thursday and collectors will be desperate to obtain those with particular serial numbers. The Bank of England will hold an auction on Oct 6 for the special notes, with the codes available to bid for to be announced on Friday.

Changechecker.com has said the serial numbers it expects to fetch the highest prices are the birthday of Jane Austen – whose portrait featured on the note – 16 121775, and the date of her death, 18 071817. Other high-pricing codes are expected to be significant dates in the author’s life.