Hunt is on for Harry Kane fivers that may just net you £50,000
THREE £5 notes engraved with a portrait of Harry Kane have been released into circulation – and anyone who finds one may be able to cash it in for £50,000.
Graham Short, an artist based in Birmingham, created six notes featuring the England football captain’s face to celebrate the six goals scored by the striker to win the Golden Boot at the World Cup.
One was given to Kane himself, one to the FA, with the remaining four spent by the “micro-engraver” in each of the countries that make up the United Kingdom.
Mr Short headed to the birthplace of his father – Merthyr Tydfil in Wales – in the hope that it would change the life of its finder. But it has already passed through at least two pairs of hands in the town without anyone realising it was a special edition.
He said: “The Welsh note, I went to Merthyr Tydfil, the former mining town where my father was born. It’s not a wealthy area and I’m hoping that this note could help to change the life of someone in that area who finds it.”
Mr Short spent the note in the Bal Off Licence, and said he hoped someone could find it, sell it and be able to spend the money on a holiday or Christmas.
But Manpreet Kaur, who owns the shop, failed to spot it and told the BBC: “Someone will give you a note and then another customer comes in and needs a £5 note. That’s why I missed it.”
The first note was spent in Meriden, a village between Coventry and Solihull that is roughly in the geographical centre of England.
Mr Short said: “It’s only a few miles from the M40 and M42, and so that note could travel in any direction.
“Now I’ve just been to Edinburgh and spent one in the Elephant House in Edinburgh, the coffee shop where JK Rowling first went as a young mum and started writing about Harry Potter. I just liked the magical feeling of that.”
The artist is yet to spend the Northern Ireland note. He was behind commemorative Jane Austen notes and the project prompted a frenzied searching of wallets and purses after they were valued at £50,000 each. The hope is that the Harry Kane special editions will fetch a similar price.