A rare New Zealand £5 note that came about after a banking crisis in the 1890s is estimated to sell for $17,500 at auction next week.
The 1894 £5 postal note is one of just four known to exist as trials or proofs and will go under the hammer in Wellington at Mowbray Collectables coin and banknote auction.
After the 1890s banking crisis in which the public lost confidence in banks, the
Colonial Treasurer and later Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, decided to issue a postal note that could double as a banknote. This note is a unique pink colour trial.
No issued notes are known to survive and none of the four known notes is in the hands of New Zealand banknote collectors.