2017-05-15 Mon

A rare red and white late 1800s Sudbury £5 note was sold for £600 at an auction on Wednesday in Spink, London; £150 more than its estimated value. The banknote features the text ‘Sudbury Bank’ and an image of the Corn Exchange, which is now placed in the town’s library.

The note is not dated since they were never issued but it features names of Sudbury Bank’s partners – Gurneys, Alexanders, Birkbeck, Barclay, Buxton and Kerrison. This confirms the fact that they were issued between 1890 and 1896 - the last six years of Sudbury Bank. All towns and cities in England used to issue their own banknotes. They were issued by banks that were set up by a group of merchants. These notes were like IOUs which could only be used locally. These notes became totally worthless when these provincial banks collapsed.

Unlike other provincial banks, the Sudbury Bank, founded in 1880, functioned for 16 long years. It was taken over by Barclay & Co Ltd in 1896 which became Barclays Bank Ltd in 1917.