That's inflation! Bank notes printed in Derby could fetch a tidy sum

A COLLECTION of rare black and white Derby banknotes, all produced in the 1800s when the city printed its own money, is expected to sell for between £5,500 and £8,000 at auction.

The 23 notes are emblazoned with the words Derby Bank, Derby Old Bank or Derby and Derbyshire Banking Company and were produced by these privately-owned banks between 1801 and 1895.

Now they are going under the hammer at Spink auctioneers, in Bloomsbury, London, on Friday.

The Derby notes have been put up for sale by Jersey-based property tycoon David Kirch, 75, who is named in the Sunday Times Rich List as Britain's joint 751st wealthiest man, alongside Robbie Williams, David Bowie and George Michael. Each is said to be worth £100 million.

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Mr Kirch's collection of English provincial banknotes, worth a total of about £1 million, will be sold in four parts at Spink. It is described by Barnaby Faull, head of the auctioneers' banknotes department, as "the best collection of English provincial banknotes by miles".

In the late 1700s and early 1800s there were hundreds of privately-owned banks throughout England.

Mr Faull said: "All towns and cities used to issue their own banknotes. Merchants would get together and set up their own banks.

"But their notes, which were like IOUs, could only be used locally, so when many of these provincial banks went bust their notes became completely worthless."

There are some real rarities among the Derby notes coming up for sale and one, described as a "very rare" 1889 Derby and Derbyshire Banking Company Limited £50 note, with its value underprinted in blue, could fetch between £400 and £500, while an unissued Derby Bank £100 note, dating from 1887 to 1902, could sell for between £400 and £600.

At Spink in London on April 27, 2004, a "very rare" Derbyshire note, an 1829 black and white Wirksworth & Ashbourn Bank £5 note, featuring the name Richard Arkwright & Co, was expected to sell for between £300 and £500. But in the end it went for £3,335, setting a world record for an English provincial banknote.