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£50 specimen

Posted: 21 Aug 2019 21:18
by tim
Anyone ever seen one of these before
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2019-08-21-min.png (252.17 KiB) Viewed 4068 times
Currency Commission, Bank of Ireland, colour trial £50, 5 September 1978 (fictitious date), serial number 00ZK 000000, J Brennan and J A Gargan blue print, red specimen overprint, ploughman scene at centre, mounting traces, one hard fold, one light bend in paper, completely original. Description of note

Re: £50 specimen

Posted: 21 Aug 2019 23:37
by Mac
Yes. Although frequently described as such, it is not a colour trial, but a printer's specimen. De La Rue (the printers) used to include them in their specimen books (hence the mounting traces on the back). It was likely printed sometime in the 1930s.

As there are no opportunities for collectors to acquire issued Ploughman £20, £50, £100 notes these De La Rue Specimens have considerable value.

This one would likely fetch around 3000 Euro. It one has been up for sale twice before that I know of, in Spink in 1992, and again in 2013 (not sure where).

They turn up fairly regularly. Many of them have numbers on the bottom, there is a numbered example in the De La Rue Ploughman Specimen section.

Re: £50 specimen

Posted: 21 Aug 2019 23:40
by tim
It coming up for auction in 2 weeks but it listed a lot higher that €3000. Estimate is between €4500-€5500

Re: £50 specimen

Posted: 22 Aug 2019 18:06
by Mac
tim wrote: 21 Aug 2019 23:40Estimate is between €4500-€5500
That would be a good result for it.

Re: £50 specimen

Posted: 14 Sep 2019 19:17
by Mac
Well, it sold for £9,500, making £12,236 including the fees. The vendor will be very happy with that!
All it needed were two bidders to chase it and keep going.