Rare £5 note engraved with a Jane Austen quote worth £50,000 could be in THIS city
A £5 NOTE engraved with a Jane Austen quote and worth £50,000 may have been put into circulation - in her home city.
A £5 NOTE engraved with a Jane Austen quote cold be in her home city
Micro-artist Graham Short has engraved four £5 notes with a small image of Austen and a line from her books.
There is now speculation about a fifth note after the artist paid an incognito visit to the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, Somerset, where she lived for many years.
General manager Paul Crossey said: "The centre was unaware of Mr Short's visit until he had been to both the tea room and exhibition, and then before he left he handed a business card to a member of staff in the gift shop."
While there, Mr Short visited its tearoom, spent time in the gift shop and paid to go around the exhibition dedicated to the author's time in the city.
The Jane Austen Centre in Bath
Mr Crossey said: "I briefly spoke to Mr Short while he was in the tea room, but did not realise who he was.
Something about his look made me wonder if he was an artist
"Something about his look made me wonder if he was an artist. I admired his taste in attire, although I'm not sure I could pull off those leopard print shoes.
"The reason for his visit remains a mystery though. We obviously wondered if he had spent another engraved five pound note.
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Micro-artist Graham Short has engraved four £5 notes with a small image of Austen
''But we were very busy that day and gave out a lot of change, before we realised who he was and had a chance to check our tills."
The £5 notes are engraved with the line from Pride and Prejudice: "I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good"
Only one of the four engraved £5 notes, which Mr Short made in partnership with The Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery, remains unfound.