Micro-Engraver Adds Jane Austen’s Portrait to Four Special Bank Notes

For almost two decades, Karrie Irish has worked in sales and management. Since 2013, she has served as vice president of national field sales for Key Health located in Pinellas County, Florida. In her spare time, Pinellas County resident Karrie Irish is an avid reader and enjoys reading nonfiction and fiction tomes. One of her favorites is the Pride and Prejudice series by Jane Austen.

To honor Jane Austen and the 200th anniversary of her death, micro-engraver Graham Short engraved a tiny portrait of the author on four special £5 notes. These were put into circulation in late 2016, and could be worth more than £20,000 due to how rare they are. The artist thought of the idea of engraving a 5 millimeter portrait of the author on the transparent part of the new £5 notes. He also included a different quote around each one.

As an added incentive, instead of auctioning off the notes, Mr. Short and the Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery in Kelso decided to place these notes into circulation. Individuals who found the notes were encouraged to reach out to the gallery and it would provide assistance on how to put the note up for auction. It should be noted that although it is illegal to deface bank notes, the gallery contacted the Bank of England and determined that these four notes remain legal tender.

One note was discovered in a Christmas card and the recipient opted to keep the money. Another was found by a woman in a café in south Wales, and she gave it to her granddaughter. The third was found in a pub, and the woman donated the note back to the gallery to be auctioned off for the Children in Need charity. As of March 2017, the fourth has yet to be found.