Million Serial Banknotes
ENGLISH Million Serial Banknotes
Million serial banknotes exist to keep the accounts balanced. A million serial banknote, also known as 'Terminators', 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 the high street banks as normal banknote were. Million serials exist from the Bradbury 1917 third treasury period, and as of Series 'C' Portrait B281 O'Brien 1960 to B316 Fforde £10 1967 the highest serial was 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. Email pam@britishnotes.co.uk or Phone 0208 641 3224 if you have any further information.
Bradbury one pound banknote of 1917 Million serial (seven digits the normal is six)
Britannia B271 10s Million serial banknote
Britannia Million Serial Banknotes Please send in prefixes of unrecorded Millions
| Cat No | Denom | Prefixes Logged |
| Catterns | ||
| B225 | £1 | J20. |
| Peppiatt | ||
| B236 | 10s | 16O 27W |
| B238 | £1 | 45Y 85Y. 10U |
| B239 | £1 | D29A. E13A |
| B249 Blue | £1 | J26D L74D X47D B26E. K95E R55E |
| B251 Mauve | 10s | A99D E98D K77D Y87D. Z99D |
| B260 | £1 | W36A W56A W79A A37B H36B. |
| Beale | ||
| B265 | 10s | 34D 85D 73C. |
| B266 | 10s | U21Z T37Z T53Z R26Z N24Z N76Z N80Z |
| K89Z J14Z D50Z E42Z | ||
| B268 | £1 | J66B M08B X41B Y20B |
| A73C J12C N24C S39C S60C U36C. Z94C | ||
| D78J E93J K57J K81J | ||
| O'Brien | ||
| B271 | 10s | A37Z |
| Z18Y Z31Y Y13Y X33Y W78Y O05Y O07Y N65Y | ||
| K31Y K39Y J66Y E94Y D27Y B03Y B80Y. A32Y | ||
| Z21X Z89X Z95X | ||
| B273 | £1 | N06J R27J S52J S72J S94J T38J T74J X63J Y77J Z39J |
| A45K A88K B89K C28K C87L D10K E14K E64K E90K. E97K | ||
| O02K R26K S39K S56K T80K U28K U67K U79K U99K | ||
| W34K W68K W68K X58K Y17K | ||
| B12L H29L H44L K13L |
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 and added by hand to both serials in turn. Members of staff, in a competitive manner, would take turns adding the noughts to the end of the 100000 serials, one banknote per person. The best alligned serialed banknote would be chosen for issue, 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 by 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
Table of Other English Millions Serial Banknotes
| Cat No | Denom |
Prefixes Logged |
| Bradbury | ||
| T16 | £1 | A32. E94 |
| Fisher | ||
| T31 | £1 | B1/78. P1/83 |
|
Fforde |
||
| B305 | £1 | S38K T37B. T50D T50H T69H T85J |
|
Page |
||
| B320 | W86B. X78A X29C X60E X33H X57L | |
| B322 | £1 | BS44 BZ23 |
| CS08. CS09 CS10 CS11 CS12 CW81 | ||
| EN04 ER51 ET04 | ||
| HS25 HS40 HX29 | ||
| B330 | £10 | A78 B20. C08 E77 |
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
Buying Similar Items, what do you have to offer?
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 fainter
Last nought, under signature, seems to have slid down and lost its shape