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£5 notes 'worth £20,000' in circulation £5 notes 'worth £20,000' in circulation
(35 minutes later)
Four special £5 notes, engraved with a tiny portrait of author Jane Austen, are being been put into circulation and could be worth more than £20,000.Four special £5 notes, engraved with a tiny portrait of author Jane Austen, are being been 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.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.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.Mr Short's last work, a portrait of the Queen on a pinhead, sold for £100,000.
It is claimed that each of the £5 notes in the new project could fetch £20,000 at auction. 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.
Mr Short 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.He has included a different quote around each one, ensuring that each note is unique.
The idea is a collaboration with the Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery in Kelso. Anyone finding one of the notes has been advised to contact the Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery in Kelso, which launched the project.
The artist and Mr Huggins-Haig decided that rather than auction them globally, they would simply hand them out secretly and - after launching new art collections in Kelso at the weekend - the first one was spent in a nearby shop. Mr Huggins-Haig told BBC Scotland that the notes could be worth tens of thousands of pounds at auction.
Anyone finding one of the notes has been advised to contact the gallery in Kelso. He said: "All of Graham's work has an insurance valuation of about £50,000 at the moment. It's a reasonable estimate."
They will provide advice on how to put the artwork up for auction or hold on to it in the hope it increases in value. The artist and the gallery owner decided that rather than auction the notes globally, they would simply hand them out secretly and - after launching new art collections in Kelso at the weekend - the first one was spent in a nearby shop.
"I do know that the place that it was spent in haven't got a clue that it was spent in there," said Mr Huggins-Haig.
"It was spent somewhere where everybody goes in. It is not a chain, it was a local business."
He has sold Mr Short's work for some time and said they came up with the idea in an effort to take art out to a wider audience.
"Only 5% of people ever visit an art gallery," he said.
"How do we get art out and make it accessible to all?
"These notes are spent everywhere, so anyone has a chance of winning."
'Golden ticket'
He said if someone with a special note contacted the gallery they would provide advice on how to put the artwork up for auction.
The owner of the note could also hold on to it in the hope it increased in value.
"It is very much the Willie Wonka golden ticket," said Mr Huggins-Haig.
"I would like them to keep it, because it is a work of art, but it is up to them.
"They could sell it or they could hold on to it - they own it when they find it."
The Birmingham-born artist said he was always looking to do "something different" and as soon as he saw the new £5 notes he was keen to engrave something on one.
"I didn't know what but then I found out it was going to be the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death and her image is also going on the new £10 note, so it ties in nicely with that," said Mr Short.
"The beauty of this is that you can't see the engraving at all, but when you turn the note and the light comes at a different angle it appears. I call it invisible engraving."
The four notes have the serial numbers AM32 885551, AM32 885552, AM32 885553 and AM32 885554.The four notes have the serial numbers AM32 885551, AM32 885552, AM32 885553 and AM32 885554.