Stanley Gibbons Baldwins British and World Bank Notes Auction
Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s returns to banknote auctions with a wide-ranging sale spotlighting rare British, provincial, world, and obsolete notes spanning centuries of monetary history.
Auction house Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s is delighted to present the British & World Banknotes sale, which will take place at 399 Strand and online on Thursday, 29 January 2026. This is the first banknote auction Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s has presented for several years.
The first section is a collection of British bank notes comprising early Treasury and Bank of England notes, and the second part is a fairly comprehensive collection of English and Welsh Provincial bank notes, mainly from the early 19th Century. Of the Bank of England notes. This includes a very interesting Dardanelles over-print which was specifically used in North Africa to support the Gallipoli offensive (Lot 9). Also of particular note is a very rare Bank of England ‘white £100. Note’ issued at the end of the First World War (Lot 19). Such high denominations rarely turn up.
The second section is a collection of world bank notes acquired by Baldwin's many years ago. This comprises initially a selection of British bank notes, featuring a very good collection from Provincial Banks in the North East of England, with such locations as Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, Newcastle, and Sunderland. These were owned by the famous Backhouse family, who, through their banking services, facilitated and promoted the economic growth that made this area an industrial powerhouse throughout the 19th Century. The Backhouse banking empire was eventually taken over by Barclays at the end of that century and Jonathan Backhouse became a full Director of Barclays, retiring in 1913.
His grandfather, James Backhouse, a wealthy Quaker flax-dresser from Darlington, originally offered banking facilities to fellow merchants and then, in 1774, formally set up a bank. The bank thrived – weathering the economic storms of the war with France (when even the Bank of England suspended redemption of its notes). The Backhouse empire was heavily involved in the Stockton and Darlington Railway and set up banks in Durham, Newcastle, Sunderland, and Stockton-on-Tees. By the end of the 19th Century, it was one of the largest banks in the UK, having 20 branches and managing £3.3 million in deposits. At this point, it merged with Barclays of London and Gurney’s of Norwich to hold a quarter of deposits in English private banks. Some good examples of Backhouse bank notes can be seen in Lots 136 to 148.
This auction also features a good run of obsolete bank notes from American banks of the mid 19th Century – most of which did not survive the American Civil War. They are characterised by exquisite engraving resulting in some magnificent and detailed vignettes decorating the notes (see Lot 184, which features a magnificent hunting scene). There is also a very interesting group of Chinese notes from the last century, mainly the Hong Kong and Shanghai bank, most of which have been independently graded by PMG, all 66-mint state (Lots 218 – 223). In addition to these areas, there are bank notes from around the world.
Highlights include:
For more information, please visit www.sgbaldwins.com.
