REVIEW: THE COOK COLLECTION OF EUROPEAN BANKNOTES: 28 NOVEMBER

Created over a period of just seven years, this single-owner collection of more than 250 lots of Central and Eastern European banknotes from 23 countries sold for more than £250,000 – far above its £150,000 top estimate.

Albania, Bulgaria, the Baltic States, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia all featured in the bidding, which left 96% of all lots sold.

The notes, which date from 1794 to 2003, were collected by Joe Cook in 1998-2004, while working as a financial journalist in Central and Eastern Europe. He began collecting when he spotted an album of banknotes in a second-hand bookshop in Bucharest in 1998.

The top lot was a colour trial of the Albania 1926 100 Franka Ari. Estimated to fetch £3,000-4,000, the note, in a different and spectacular set of colours from the one actually issued, took £14,000 hammer, selling to a passionate Albanian collector after a bidding war.

A printer’s archival specimen of a 10 Leva note from the Bulgarian National Bank dating from 1899, and one of only two ever produced for this series, sold for £10,000 against hopes of £6,000-8,000. It sold to a long-term collector of Bulgarian banknotes who had been waiting many years for one to come to market.

Two other Bulgarian National Bank notes scored multiple-estimate prices: both were very rare 500 Leva Zlatni, ND (1907) – only five examples have ever been graded by PMG. Each estimated at £600-800, they sold for £8,000 apiece.

The best-selling Romanian note was a specimen 5,000 Lei note from Banco Nationala a Romaniei dated from 31 March 1931 with a red Bradbury Wilkinson seal. It took £6,500 against a guide of £1,000-1,500, selling to a Romanian collector.

The list of highlights went on and on.

After the sale, Joe Cook said: “The results were beyond expectations, with Albania, Bulgaria and Romania performing exceptionally well. I understand from Thomasina Smith and Andrew Pattison that many of the buyers are from the issuing countries, so it’s pleasing that many of the banknotes are going ‘back home’!”

Andrew Pattison, Head of Banknotes department at Noonans, added: “This was one of Noonans' most successful banknote auctions ever, and it was a privilege to work with Joe Cook and handle such rare and special items from a region that has traditionally underperformed. Those days of underperformance are well and truly over, and the spectacular results across the board speak for themselves.”