BANKNOTES produced almost 200 years ago have been saved from the scrapheap and are set to fetch hundreds of pounds at auction.

Ken Beardsworth is selling a rare one pound note from the Bank of England which came out after the Battle of Waterloo in August 1815.

A one guinea note from the Bank of Ripon, produced in 1818, and a 1760 invoice from the excise office in Clitheroe are also up for grabs on internet auction site eBay.

They were all found when a house in Clitheroe was being renovated.

Ken, 65, said his friend found the 19th Century currency in a skip 30 years ago and had now offered them to him to sell on his behalf.

Retired engineer Ken, of Ravenwood Close, Great Harwood, said: “A pal of mine worked in the building trade and he found them while revamping a house in Clitheroe.

"Someone had thrown them out so he kept them.

"He was having a sort out three weeks ago and found them again.

“They are all in frames and I've had a close look at them and I'm certain they are genuine.”

All towns used to make their own banknotes between 1790 and 1830. They were issued by prominent merchants bearing their names as a guarantee from their own provincial banks.

The Bank of England note bears the signature of Henry Hase, who was chief cashier from 1807 to 1829.

Andrew Pattison, banknotes expert at specialist auctioneers Spink, said it could be worth around £400 as it was in a poor condition.

He said: “These notes are quite scarce, mainly due to their age, but there are a considerable number in the market in better states than this one, which drives the price down exponentially.

“The Ripon note would be worth a maximum of £150. This depends on the condition since provincial notes tend to be in quite poor states.

“Though still quite rare, Ripon Bank notes are one of the more common varieties of provincial banknotes.”

In 1835, Ripon Bank was bought by Yorkshire District Banking Company, which itself was bought by a London bank, which through a series of sales, was bought by HSBC in 1999.

The pound note, based on inflation figures, would be equivalent to £69.44p in today's money.

The guinea note - around 21 shillings - was equivalent to about £70.15.

1815: The year in events

  • The Duke of Wellington defeats Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, ending the Napoleonic wars. Napoleon is exiled to St Helena in the Atlantic Ocean in October.
  • On January 8, American forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat an invading British force in the Battle of Orleans.
  • Mount Tambora, in the Dutch East Indies, erupts on April 5 killing more than 92,000 and sending thousands of tons of sulfide gas into the atmosphere.
  • It causes snows in June and July in the northern hemisphere, widespread crop failures and famine.
  • The Final Act of the Congress of Vienna is signed on June 9 creating a new European political map. The German Confederation is created and the neutrality of Switzerland is guaranteed.
  • Louis XVIII returns to Paris, and is 'restored' as King of France on July 8. He had declared himself king after the death of his nephew, 10-year-old Louis XVII.