Seven special serial-numbered Guernsey 2018 £20 Commemorative banknotes are being made available via public auction, with the proceeds to be donated to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.
The States Treasury issued a new £20 banknote on the 8th November 2018 to commemorate the end of The Great War. The banknote is based on the 1996 designed circulating banknote, but has the following additional features:
Commemorative text on the front of the note
The serial number has a special prefix of TGW
There is a poppy shaped security hologram, which shows a poppy and the denomination 20
The gold seal is surrounded with a wreath of poppies
The reverse of the banknote has a prominent multi-coloured image of poppies
Only 500,000 banknotes have been commissioned with this design and issued into circulation. The notes are also available to purchase in an uncirculated condition for via the Guernsey Post Office.
However, a number of special serial numbers have been withheld from issue to provide anyone interested in obtaining them the opportunity to bid via public auction. These special serial-numbered banknotes are:
TGW000100
TGW002018
TGW001914
TGW001915
TGW001916
TGW001917
TGW001918
These notes will be made available in three lots, with lots one and two being banknotes TGW000100 and TGW002018 respectively. Lot 3 will be TGW001914 to TGW001918.
These lots will be included as part of Martel Maides' last auction of the year on 11th December 2018 (www.martelmaidesauctions.com). All proceeds from the sale of these banknotes will be donated to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. Due to the banknote commemorating the end of the First World War and the design so strongly featuring poppies, it was considered appropriate to support this cause.
The States Treasury last auctioned banknotes for charity in 1999, when the Millennium commemorative £5 banknotes (serial numbers M001999, M002000 and M002001) were purchased for a combined figure of £4,660.