An extremely rare banknote has sold for £32,000 after being expected to fetch more than £24,000.

The rare £100 note, from the Liverpool branch of the Bank of England, dates back to 1855 and was one of the key lots in an auction of British and Irish banknotes on June 26.

Also included in the auction was another series of notes from Liverpool dating back to 1882.

The £10 notes were signed by the later disgraced Chief Cashier Frank May and were estimated to fetch more than £15,000, before selling for £26,000.

While a £1,000 note dating to 1922, sold for £28,000 against an estimate of £18,000.

Following the sale, Andrew Pattison, head of the banknotes department at Noonans, the auction house hosting the auction, said: “All three of these were bought by pre-eminent collectors of British banknotes.  

"All three comfortably exceeded their estimates because the market for such rare items is going from strength to strength.  

"Newly published information regarding the minuscule surviving quantities of such banknotes (many are unique survivors) is giving bidders a well-founded sense of security when spending larger amounts.  

The rare £100 banknote expected to fetch £20,000 at auctionThe rare £100 banknote expected to fetch £20,000 at auction (Image: Noonans Mayfair)

"Additionally, these notes come up for auction so infrequently, if ever, that bidders are clearly concluding that they need to take the chance when offered, as they may never see another.” 

Top 10 most valuable 50p coins, according to Royal Mint

Here is a list of the top 10 most valuable coins, when they were made and how many were minted:

  1. Olympic Aquatics (2011), unknown
  2. Kew Gardens (2009), 210,000
  3. Olympic Wrestling (2011), 1,129,500
  4. OlympicFootball(2011), 1,161,500
  5. Olympic Judo (2011), 1,161,500
  6. Olympic Triathlon (2011), 1,163,500
  7. Peter Rabbit (2018), 1,400,000
  8. Flopsy Bunny (2018), 1,400,000
  9. Olympic Tennis (2011), 1,454,000
  10. Olympic Goalball (2011), 1,615,500