BILL ENGRAVED WITH MICRO-PORTRAIT FOUND

An Irish woman who found a rare five-pound note engraved with a portrait of Jane Austen has donated it to charity.

The note, worth an estimated £50,000, was found in Northern Ireland by a woman known only as "J".

She sent the fiver back to the Scottish gallery it came from, and asked for it to be used to benefit a charitable cause.

"£5 note enclosed, I don't need it at my time of life. Please use it to help young people," she wrote.

The anonymous benefactor is known to be from County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.

The gallery created the notes in conjunction with Birmingham micro-artist Graham Short.

Just four notes were specially engraved and spent in each of the home countries.

The first was found in a café in south Wales in December, with the second discovery coming in Scotland inside a Christmas card the same month.

The artist, Graham Short, had previously told the BBC that he spent it "in a small bar called Charlie's Bar".

When the gallery asked the woman to prove her find, she sent them a picture of the note, verifiable through its serial number, along with a dated copy of her local newspaper, the Donegal Democrat.

To read the complete article, see:
Mystery Irish woman gives £50k fiver to charity (www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-39042329)

Birmingham micro-artist Graham Short engraved minuscule 5mm portraits of Jane Austen onto the fivers.

Three of the four have already been discovered, the latest being found in a Northern Irish Bar.

Quotes from Austen's classic works have been carved onto the notes, and although they can be seen with the naked eye, a microscope is required to see the detail properly.

Now is the time to start searching down the back of the sofa, or in the pockets of your jeans for the elusive note.

The quotes inscribed on the banknotes are:

• AM32 885552: "To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love," from Pride and Prejudice

• AM32 885554: "I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good," from Pride and Prejudice

• AM32 885553: "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of," from Mansfield Park

• AM32 885551: "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more," from Emma

To read the complete article, see:
One of four rare Jane Austen five pound notes worth £50,000 remains undiscovered (www.essexlive.news/one-of-four-rare-jane-austen-five-pound-notes-worth-50-000-remains-undiscovered/story-30162929-detail/story.html)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ARTIST SPENDS BILL ENGRAVED WITH MICRO-PORTRAIT (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n51a30.html)

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