That's a lot of fivers for a fiver: New plastic £5 note is selling for £65,000 on eBay - because it has AK47 in the serial number

  • The note was put on the auction site by seller Gareth Wright on October 3
  • Since then it has sparked a bidding war because of its 'AK47' serial number
  • The bidding now stands at £65,000, with one day left to make an offer
  • Britain's new plastic £5 notes have become a valuable collectors' item
  • Have you got an interesting five-pound note story? Email steven.fletcher@mailonline.co.uk 

By Thomas Burrows for MailOnline

Published: 07:36 EST, 12 October 2016 | Updated: 12:02 EST, 12 October 2016

Collectors have bid £65,000 for a £5 note on eBay - because it has AK47 on the serial number.

The note was put on the auction site by seller Gareth Wright on October 3 - and sparked a frenzied bidding war. 

The bidding now stands at an astonishing £65,000, with one day left to try and purchase the note.

Bidding for the £5 note with the AK47 serial number has reached £65,000 on eBay

Bidding for the £5 note with the AK47 serial number has reached £65,000 on eBay

Mr Wright, who lives in Twickenham, said he had withdrawn £10 from a cash machine and got back two new £5 notes. 

He spent one of notes but then noticed the AK47 serial number on the other and so decided to keep hold of it remembering they were fetching hundreds of pounds online.

He told the Sun his phone 'did not stop vibrating all night' after he first put the note on eBay.

But he fears he may have been targeted by pranksters as the bidding jumped suddenly from £1,000 to £6,000, from £10,000 to £50,000 and £50,000 to £60,000. 

eBay have insisted any bids made will go ahead.

A spokesman said: 'Where we believe there is unhelpful bidding activity we will take an active role in monitoring the sale for the seller.'

The note was put on the auction site by seller Gareth Wright on October 3 - and has sparked a frenzied bidding war

The note was put on the auction site by seller Gareth Wright on October 3 - and has sparked a frenzied bidding war

Since they were released in September, Britain's new plastic £5 notes have become a valuable collectors' item. 

Notes with low serial numbers in the first printing run have become prized collectors' items.

Each unique number can be found twice on the reverse side of the note – which features a portrait of Sir Winston Churchill – on the left hand side and the bottom right. 

The first fiver – bearing the number AA01 000001 – was presented to the Queen, leaving up to 999,998 others with the same prefix.

Collector Alan Scrase hit the jackpot after finding three fivers with consecutive AA01 serial numbers. 

After putting the £5 notes on eBay, he received 31 bids – eventually selling the set for £456. 

Another, Tim Mitchell from Llandudno, Wales, has so far sold 11 of his £5 notes with the serial number AA01 for £40 each. 

He said: 'I find it bizarre that people want to pay £40 for a fiver but I'm not complaining – it is a good payday.' 

A total of 440 million fivers have been printed, meaning there is roughly a one in 440 chance of a note having a valuable AA01 serial number.  

The new notes can survive a splash of claret, a flick of cigar ash and the nip of a bulldog. 

New security features – such as a transparent window – supposedly make the note harder to counterfeit.

The polymer notes are expected to last an average of five years, compared to the current note's two years.

The old fiver, featuring prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, will continue to be valid until May 5, 2017.  

PAINTER FINDS HIS PHONE NUMBER ON A FIVE POUND NOTE

A painter and decorator was stunned when he brandished a £5 note in the pub and discovered it matched his home phone number - beating odds of a trillion-to-one.

Lee Sharman, 39, was in his local Wetherspoon's with his friends and received a fiver in change from a round.

When he examined the note more carefully he was flabbergasted to find the last six digits exactly matched his home number.

He claimed the estimated odds of a person finding their own landline on a five pound note was 1,200,000,000,000/1.

Lee Sharman was stunned to find the serial number matched his landline phone number

Lee Sharman was stunned to find the serial number matched his landline phone number

On every £5 note there is a serial number - with two letters, two digits, a space and then six more digits.

Mr Sharman was in a Wetherspoon's when he noticed the special note.

The father-of-one said: 'I have about four new fivers so far and I'm going to collect all the ones I get because apparently they could be valuable in the future depending on the serial numbers.

'I was in the pub with my mates on Sunday when I pulled the fiver out to show them and I couldn't believe my eyes. 

Mr Sharman was in a Wetherspoon's when he noticed the special note and was stunned by it

Mr Sharman was in a Wetherspoon's when he noticed the special note and was stunned by it

'I was in shock. I found it bizarre that it could happen.

'It is only because they are new - that is the reason I was looking at them. 

'I called the bookies and asked if I could put a bet on it but they said they wouldn't be able to puts odds on it.

'I told them I actually did have a fiver with my phone number on and they said the odds would be astronomical.

'I am gutted I can't put a bet on it.'

He added: 'I am going to put it in a frame with my business card.' 

 

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