Feature: Treasure hunt for five pound notes with engraving goes on in Britain

A frantic search has been on across England for a five-pound note with a reward worth up to 62,000 U.S.dollars for the finder.

The search was given a boost on Friday when a similar note released in Scotland was found after being inserted as a small gift within a Christmas greeting card.

A fourth card, released in Northern Ireland, is also awaiting a finder.

One feature is common to all of the four notes. Each contains a miniature portrait of the famous writer Jane Austen. The 200th anniversary of the writer's death is to be commemorated in Britain in 2017.

All of the cards, containing the etching by specialist micro-engraver Graham Short, were released into general circulation soon after the new polymer plastic five-pound notes were introduced several months ago.

The first turned up in Wales very quickly, and the discovery of the one circulated in Scotland, the other two remain to be found.

The two banknotes bear the serial numbers AM32 885552 and AM32 885554, with finders asked to contact the Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery in Kelso, which launched the project.

Huggins-Haig said in a media interview on Friday the person who received the bank note in Scotland wished to remain anonymous.

He said: "When somebody opened their Christmas card from a loved one, it was contained in that Christmas card. The person who put it in didn't necessarily know what they were doing. That's two down and there's still two out there. Keep checking your change."

The engraver, Graham Short, aged 70, is based in Birmingham. He came up with the idea of engraving a 5mm portrait of Jane Austen on the transparent part of the new plastic notes to mark the 200th anniversary of her death next year.

Short said: "I'm always looking to do something different and as soon as I saw the new five-pound note I thought 'wouldn't it be good if I could engrave something on it?'"

"The beauty of this is that you can't see the engraving at all, but when you turn the note and the light comes at a different angle it appears. I call it invisible engraving."

"I've no idea how much they will be worth but 20,000 pounds (25,000 U.S.dollars) is a conservative estimate. Previous pieces I've done have been insured for more than 50,000 pounds (62,000 U.S.dollars)."

Each of the four bank notes have an individual quote from a Jane Austen novel.

The engravings, which are next to Big Ben on the polymer notes' holographic foil, are invisible to the naked eye and can only be seen in certain lights. Endit