£50,000 f iver found ...in a Christmas card
A FIVE-pound note sent in a Christmas card could be worth 10,000 times as much to its recipient.
The gift, delivered to an address in the Borders, is one of four engraved with a tiny portrait of Jane Austen.
Its new owner wants to remain anonymous and has decided to frame the note and hang it on the wall.
It was contained in a Christmas card from a relative in the same area, who thought they were including an ordinary note.
The banknote is the second of the four featuring art by renowned micro-engraver Graham Short, 70, from the West Midlands, to turn up.
The project was created by Mr Short and Tony Huggins-Haig, who owns an art gallery in Kelso, in the Borders.
Mr Huggins-Haig, 52, said: ‘It has been something almost magical for this time of year to bring news like this to people’s lives.
‘The beauty in it, of course, is that the recipients didn’t have any idea it was one of the four five-pound notes engraved by Graham. It’s an incredible fortune that was found.’
The first of the bank notes was discovered in some change from a cafe purchase in South Wales in early december, while this second one turned up on Thursday.
In a bid to keep the recipients of the notes anonymous, Mr Huggins-Haig said all he could reveal about them was that their characters were ‘humble’ and they didn’t want any media attention.
He said: ‘They will probably hold onto the banknote to see if it increases in value over the years, and one family in particular may hold onto it and pass it through the family. We really wanted to make the pound go that extra mile this Christmas and thought why not share the art with everyone.’
Mr Huggins-Haig and Mr Short launched the project on december 5 as a way to commemorate the forthcoming 200th anniversary of the author’s death.
Mr Short approached the Bank of England for four new banknotes before engraving a 5mm portrait on the transparent part and sending them out into circulation at the beginning of the month.
There are still two waiting to be found in England and northern Ireland, and Mr Huggins-Haig urged people to examine their bank notes on the ‘off chance’ that they may have a lucky one.
He said: ‘There are still two more to go, and if people checked their notes on the off-chance they could have a pleasant surprise for 2017.’
The four notes have the following serial numbers AM32 885551, AM32 885552, AM32 885553, and AM32 885554.
Each is accompanied by a different quote from Jane Austen’s famous works.
‘Pleasant surprise for 2017’