Qatar Bank Note Series Strikes High Bids at Noonans
A never-before-seen set of Qatar Monetary Agency die proofs stunned bidders at Noonans Mayfair, selling for £230,000—more than 15 times their presale estimate.
A standout of the Noonans Mayfair November 28, 2025, “World Banknotes” event was a collection of six die proofs from the Qatar Monetary Agency. The series was purchased 15 times past their presale high estimate, at a combined price of £230,000. Designed by De La Rue, all were very rare, never circulated, and dated before 1981.
“This was a genuinely remarkable result. They did extraordinarily well because this is the first time anyone has ever seen a set of proofs for this popular 1981 issue of notes,” explains Head of the Banknotes Department at Noonans, Andrew Pattison. “Despite the rarity, we did not expect the extraordinary response that the market showed to the notes. There were multiple bidders up to a fairly high level, and then two extremely serious individuals who fought each lot up to the levels we saw on the day. The full set eventually went to the same bidder, who is an extremely serious collector of rare notes from the entire region.”
The highest-priced note of the series was the obverse and reverse die proofs of the 500 riyals (BNB B112 for type, Pick 12 for type), which sold for £60,000. Estimated to fetch £3,200–£3,800, the obverse note was sans serial numbers or signatures and shows Arabic script in the center. In the upper left corner is “QATAR” and color information in typewritten English and typed date “25/11/80.” The reverse design shows a vertical image of an offshore oil platform with typed notes of the date, “25/11/80,” and color information in English in the upper right corner. English words “Five Hundred Riyals” and “The Qatar Monetary Agency” line the image. For more information about the sale, visit noonans.co.uk.
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