I am often asked where I get my stock from. The answer is that it is a mixture of private customers who sell to me, buying from online auction sites such as eBay, buying from other banknote dealers and buying from auction houses. This is a cautionary warning of the pitfalls of buying from an auction house.

I buy from auction houses all around the globe, from China to the USA. The reality is that most of the notes I buy I do not see in person until they arrive in the post. In buying at auction, you rely on the auctioneer giving a good description of the note including high-resolution images. In fairness most do, but you can be caught out.

McTear’s Gallery 1842 Ltd of Glasgow held a specialist coins, jewellery & watch sale on 25th June 2024. It isn’t an auctioneer I have used before, but with 1842 in the title of the auction house I imagined it was reputable. Lot 18 caught my eye and was listed as an “Allied Irish Banks One Hundred Pound Note, – dated 1st December 1988”. There were no comments on condition. Estimated at £150-£250 I looked at the images, which clearly could have been better as they had shadow on them, but no alarm bells rang. I left a bid of £130 and won the auction. Including fees and postage the cost to me was £190.17. The note was dispatched quickly, but on arrival it was evident that there was Tippex on both the front and back of the note. Of course, any reputable auction house or dealer would point this out in their listing. However, not all auctioneers play fair. I appreciate things can go wrong so I contacted the auctioneer and sent images of the note to McTear’s. After chasing my enquiry, I received an email. For the interest of transparency this is the stock response I received which is a copy and paste job from their Terms and Conditions:

“While we do provide catalogue descriptions of Lots, it is the responsibility of the Buyer to inspect the Lot and ascertain condition. There is ample opportunity to view and inspect Lots. Where there is no mention of condition in the catalogue description, this is not an indication of perfect or any condition. Where the Buyer is unable to inspect the Lot in person, a condition report must be requested to ascertain condition. Where a condition report is not requested and the Buyer subsequently detects damage, McTear’s is not obliged to give a refund.”

Some may call this a get out of jail card for the auctioneer. In essence buyer beware. Naturally, I won’t be doing business with McTear’s again. Not all auction houses are the same. The vast majority want satisfied customers so give accurate descriptions and refund if something goes wrong. I purchased a note from Spink & Sons in January 2024. Excellent photography, clearly described with a condition report. I won the note, but on arrival it was creased and did not match the description in the catalogue. Most likely something had happened during the viewing where the note got damaged. There was no pushback from Spinks, I sent the note back and they refunded the money. That was great service from a reputable auction house.

When you buy from Black and Underwood you have a no-quibble refund guarantee. If you receive a note and it is not as described or if you change your mind, you can return it to us and you will receive a full refund. Black & Underwood takes on the risk of sourcing notes from a variety of places. You can be rest assured that you are receiving a note that is clearly described and photographed.

The Allied Irish note is available for sale on our website, with clear images and the description explaining about Tippex on the front and back of the note. It is priced accordingly.