Rare Palestinian Bank Note Found In Charity Shop Sold For 140,000 Pounds In Auction: Report

A bank note found in a charity shop was recently auctioned online for a whopping £140,000 (Rs 1.3 crore). The news is going viral on social media with the users claiming the rare currency note was sold at nearly 1,400 times its original value. 

The £100 Palestine pound was found by Oxfam volunteer Paul Wyman when he was working in charity's Brentwood branch in Essex, according to The Independent.

During the British Mandate in Palestine in 1927, the £100 Palestine pound note was issued to high-ranking officials.

Also Read | Man Posed On Graduation Day, Daughter Clicked Photo. The Moment Is Now Viral

Savvy Paul, who spotted the note, chose not to put it on the shelves and instead called an auction house, who valued it at £30,000. But when it went under the hammer at Spink auction house in London, it was sold for £140,000. The amount will go to Oxfam's charitable work, The Independent further said in its report.

"I realised that I was holding something in my hands that was incredibly rare I couldn't believe it when it went for £140,000," he was quoted as saying by the publication. the bank note was brought to the shop by an unidentified donor in October 2020, and was evaluated at the auction house in February this year.

Mr Wyman watched the auction from his house on April 28.

Also Read | Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Says Company "Nearly Doubling Its Salary Budget": Report

According to Elan Fung, a bank note specialist for Spink, “less than ten of these banknotes are known to exist.”

Lorna Fallon, retail director for Oxfam, said, "We are really thankful to Paul and the Brentwood store crew for finding this banknote, as well as the kind individual who contributed it to us. We are delighted that the banknote has earned so much money for Oxfam's global mission, which includes supporting famine-stricken people in East Africa and refugees from Ukraine."