The incredible £5 note worth £50,000

(THH Gallery)
(THH Gallery)

Four of the new £5 notes put into circulation in the United Kingdom this week are worth much more than their face value.

Micro-engraver Graham Short has embellished the notes with a 5mm portrait of Jane Austen encircled by a famous quote on the transparent section to the right of Big Ben.

The four notes have consecutive serial numbers and Brits are being urged to check their wallets, because experts say the engraved notes could be worth around £50,000.

The search for the note has been likened to the search for a golden ticket in the Willy Wonka movie.

However Jane Austen will not be easy to find - people will need a microscope and exactly the right light to reveal the art.

Mr Short says he is always looking for something different to engrave.

"As soon as I saw the new £5 note I thought 'wouldn't it be good if I could engrave something on it?'"

"I didn't know what but then I found out it was going to be the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death and her image is also going on the new £10 note, so it ties in nicely with that," he says.

Mr Short's profession requires extreme precision; he only works between midnight and 5am when traffic vibrations are at their most limited.

He also brings his heart rate down to just 30 beats per minute as he engraves between beats.

"The beauty of this is that you can't see the engraving at all, but when you turn the note and the light comes at a different angle it appears. I call it invisible engraving."

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