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million serial banknotes

Million Serial Banknotes

Million serial banknotes exist to keep the accounts balanced.

A million serial banknote is special as it has a seven digit serials,

hand-made, regular serials have six digits. Million serial banknotes

were issued over the counter by high street banks as a normal

note is. Million serials exist from the 1917 third Treasury Bradbury period.

As of Series 'C' Portrait B281 O'Brien 1960 to B316 Fforde £10 1967,

the highest serial is 960000, therefore no million serials during this period.

Most banknotes found are in a poor grade (condition), probably taken

down the pub and shown around a few times. Also known as Terminators.

Email pam@britishnotes.co.uk or Phone 0208 641 3224 if you have information

Bradbury one pound banknote of 1917. Million serial (seven digits normal is six)

Britannia B271 10s Million serial banknote.

Please send in prefixes of unrecorded Millions

Underlined Prefixes are True Firsts or Lasts

Mauve Peppiatt 10s Million serial English Paper Money catalogue B251

How Were They Made?

Numbering barrels on the printing machines have only six digits.
To overcome the need for seven digits on a million serial banknote,
a single nought '0' would be removed from a spare numbering barrel.
A sheet of banknotes would be specially printed with 100000 serials.
The '0' would be inked up by hand and added by hand to each serial in turn.
Members of staff, in a competitive manner, would take turns adding the noughts
to the end of the 100000 serials. The best aligned 1000000 serials pair would be
issued, the remainder destroyed. Alternatively, if room was available, a figure '1'
would be inserted before 000000 serials on a specially printed sheet.

Why Were They Made?

The Printers had to supply a million banknotes per prefix, as required in a Government 'warrant' setting out the terms of: quality, quantity, durability, etc., Thus a million serial banknote had to be hand-made for every prefix printed.

Peppiatt green Britannia Million serial banknote B238

Britannia B249 £1 Million serial banknote

A million banknotes per serial were printed up to the mid 1950s. Then only 960,000 banknotes were

printed per serial, reverting back to a million in the mid 1960s. Catalogue numbers known not to have

million serials include Lion & Key £5 B277 & B280 £1 to £10 B281 through to B299. Others may

also exist. No million serials seen on replacements.

Scottish, Irish, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man million serials known.

1970s £1 Page signature Million serial banknote

1970s £10 Page signature Million serial banknote

Bank of Ireland £20 2008, raised last nought top left. The last '0' on the vertical ladder serial

is the same size as the second to last '0'.

Bank of Scotland first prefix million of 1970. Capital i used not a 1

RBS Million serial signed by Fred Goodwin (Fred the shred)

The last '0' on the bottom left ladder serial is the same size as the second to last '0'.

A larger '0' not available? Last '0' on vertical serial out of line.

Look how close the last '0' is to it's neighbours

Last nought too close to edge of note, also thinner

Last nought under signature seems to have slid down and lost its shape