King Charles III banknotes sold for more than 11 times their face value at a charity auction

After a series of auctions, banknotes with a face value of £78,430 raised more than 11 times that amount for charity.

In June, new 5, 10, 20 and 50 pound banknotes with the face of King Charles III went into circulation, the BBC reported.

A full set of the first issues was presented to the monarch, but hundreds of other low-serial notes were put into circulation.

A single 10-pound note with serial number HB01 000002 sold for 17,000 pounds during the auction.

Another lot sheet of 40 £50 notes - with a face value of £2,000 - sold for 26,000. This is a record for all Bank of England auctions.

The four sales, held by Spink auction house in London, raised a total of £940,127.

Collectors look for banknotes that come as close as possible to the serial number 00001, which is the reason for the large sums collected.

When the notes went into circulation in June, the Post Office reported that on the first day, collectors visited branches stocked with notes. There was also an early queue outside the Bank of England in London.

Sarah John, the bank's chief cashier, whose signature appears on the notes, said she was "thrilled" to have raised such a "remarkable" amount.

Proceeds will be split equally between 10 charities chosen by the bank.

The monarch changes for the first time on Bank of England notes. Since 1960, the late Queen Elizabeth II has been routinely depicted on Bank of England banknotes. The monarch does not appear on banknotes in Scotland.

Although the use of notes and coins is falling, the number of people who mainly use cash for everyday expenses has reached a four-year high during the cost of living crisis, according to banking trade body UK Finance.

Post offices also reported a record amount of cash in July, with transactions totalling £3.77bn. |BGNES