Budding enterpeneurs are busy trying to take advantage of the newly circulated King Charles III banknotes - by listing them at extortionate prices on eBay.
Notes to the value of £5, £10, £20 and £50 entered circulation on June 5 and are slowly becoming more commonplace in our wallets in a gradual rollout process. Hoping to capitalise on their current scarcity, however, are a number of rip off Brits - the most extreme of whom hope to get at least £10,000 for a Charles tenner.
One eBay user - with no feedback - has listed a single £10 note at a starting price of £10,000, with an option to 'Buy It Now' for a staggering 25 grand. A second person also has a £10,000 listing, but is open to 'Best Offers'.
Scores more have listed further notes with an asking price of smaller four-figure sums. The very first banknotes to feature the King - ones that display the serial number CA 01 on the bottom right - are particularly valuable to collectors. One with the serial number CA 01 000003, sold for an incredible £11,000 earlier this month at a charity auction held by Spink and Sons.
The two most expensive on eBay, however, are much later mints - with serial numbers HB 39 280792 and HB 47 376076. Another plucky seller who is looking for £2,800 for their creased £5 note, meanwhile, penned in a product description: "Rare one of a kind. Good investment."
Speaking before the notes were revealed, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said: "I am very proud that the Bank is releasing the design of our new banknotes which will carry a portrait of King Charles III. This is a significant moment, as the King is only the second monarch to feature on our banknotes. People will be able to use these new notes as they start to enter circulation in 2024."
The Bank of England also advises that old banknotes with pictures of the late Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender, which means you’ll still be able to spend them in stores alongside the new ones. The back of the banknotes will still feature Winston Churchill on the £5, Jane Austen on the £10, JMW Turner on the £20 and Alan Turing on the £50, and the design will continue to follow the existing colour scheme.