Rare banknote worth US$83,636

Rare banknote worth US$83,636

SINGAPORE (Reuters): One of the world's rarest and largest denomination banknotes has been sold for S$138,000 (US$83,636), a London auction house said recently.

The Straits Settlements $10,000 banknote was issued in 1930 for the British-administered territories of Singapore, Malacca and Penang.

It was sold to an unidentified bidder at an auction Saturday.

Spink & Sons said the auction of more than 870 lots of coins, banknotes and stamps in Singapore garnered S$1.63 million, slightly above expectations, and attracted collectors and dealers from around the globe.

Banknote expert Barnaby Faull said the S$10,000 note, depicting the crowned head of George V, was the only one ever seen.

"It is an incredibly rare piece of Singapore's history," Faull told Reuters. "This one only exists because it was sent to an archive ... for reference purposes."

The note was also an important slice of Singapore's financial history as the large denomination indicated it was probably an interbank note for large transactions, he said.

"It probably would have bought a street in Singapore in 1930," said Faull.

The auction featured more than S$700,000 worth of banknotes and coins and S$850,000 worth of stamps and covers.

Holding an auction of mostly Southeast Asian collectibles in the midst of the economic crisis gripping Asia did not faze managing director Tim Hirsch.

"In any crisis there are always people who make money," he said. Collectors in the region tended to focus on Southeast Asian collectibles as a whole, he added.