An anonymous Otago bidder is reportedly "chuffed" after buying themselves one of the rarest banknotes in history during the recent Mowbray Collectables banknote, coin and stamp auction in Wellington.
The rare 1887 Colonial Bank of New Zealand £1 note is one of only a couple known to be in private hands.
It was valued at $15,000, but fierce online bidding from around the world drove the eventual selling price to $16,100.
Mowbray Collectables coins, banknotes and medals director David Galt said the banknote was printed in London in 1887 and issued by the bank, which was headquartered in Dunedin from 1873 to 1895.
The Colonial Bank was absorbed into the Bank of New Zealand in 1895 following a major financial slump in 1893.
The note is signed by Thomas J. McKerrow, who survived the fall of the bank to become a stockbroker, working in Dunedin until the 1920s.
Mr Galt said the note was previously sold to a private buyer in 2020 for $14,500 plus a buyer premium of 17%.
To see the same note go under the hammer twice in his lifetime was also very rare, he said.
"It is one of the Crown jewels of New Zealand banknotes.
"The buyer is Otago-based, but I don’t think they will want to reveal anything more than that.
"They’re absolutely chuffed to have it in their collection."
Mr Galt was pleased the note was back in Otago hands.
The top bid of the auction was on a rare 1925 New Zealand 12/6p stamp, which had an estimated value of more than $30,000.
It eventually went under the hammer for $52,000.
