Scottish 10-pound notes auctioned for a lot of money

The Bank of Scotland issued a new 10-pound note in the Autumn of 2017. The note featured a portrait of the Scottish novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott on the front together with an image of The Mound, the historic head office of the Bank of Scotland. The back of the note shows the Glenfinnan Viaduct (even more famous after it was pictured in the Harry Potter movies) with a steam locomotive hauling a heritage tourist train. The locomotive is a preserved Stanier "Black 5", which was designed for the London, Midland and Scottish railway and is often seen on the West Highland line.

From Banknotenews.com: "On 1 December 2017, Spink concluded an auction of new Bank of Scotland 10-pound notes to raise money for the charity Mental Health UK. There were two notes with special 8-character serial numbers chosen by the winning bidders, plus 36 other notes with prefixes and serial numbers designed to appeal to railroad enthusiasts. 18 notes each with BR (British Railway) and LMS (London Midland Scotland) prefixes were sold with serial numbers corresponding to the number on each of the Stanier Black 5 locomotives in preservation today. The LMS notes also feature an overprinted “totem” sign at upper left back corresponding to a station: Ardlui, Arrochar And Tarbet, Banavie, Bridge Of Orchy, Corrour, Crianlarich Upper, Fort William, Garelochhead, Glenfinnan, Helensburgh-Upper, Lochailort, Locheilside, Morar, Rannoch, Roy Bridge, Spean Bridge, Tulloch, and Tyndrum Upper."

The notes sold for prices ranging from 250 to nearly 4,000 pound. The auction was interesting for collectors of banknotes and for train enthusiasts.

It was especially interesting if you want to spend a lot of money on a note with an arbitrary serial number. But that may just be me talking as I don't share the same enthusiasm for 'special' serial numbers as some collectors do.