Dorset couple's bank note hoard sells for £51k

A retired couple are £51,000 better off after selling a collection of rare banknotes they discovered more than 30 years ago.

Retired builder Vic Witt and his wife, Janet, found the 1916-18 notes while renovating their home in Beaminster, Dorset.

Mrs Witt had hoped to raise enough for a family holiday to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary.

Every note was bought by the president of the International Bank Note Society.

The first note sold for £8,000, with the remaining individual notes also selling for four-figure sums. Three £5 notes, with consecutive serial numbers, were sold as one lot for £16,000.

On closer inspection it was discovered that eight of the notes were issued in the couple's local mint in Bristol, with one issued in London.

While white banknotes in London from the early 1900s are relatively common - often with an estimated value of between £50-£100, Bristol-issued white banknotes are much rarer.

Mr Witt said: "I have been dying to know a little bit about these notes.

"I was a builder and bought a house in Beaminster. And we were doing it up and I happened to walk beneath the stairs and there was a hole and I pulled this tin out (containing the notes). It was 32 years ago."

As a result of the final total - sold after the couple appeared on TV show Cash in the Attic - a delighted Mr and Mrs Witt realised they would be able to treat their family to a far more elaborate anniversary celebration.

Mrs Witt said: "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect those notes to get that sort of money. And now from a very simple diamond wedding celebration with the family, I am hoping I can take them all on a lovely cruise."

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.