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Over the years several copies of 'The Million Pound Note', used in the film of the same |
name, have appeared on the open market. Notes of this denomination were never issued |
for general circulation. Treasury Certificates £50,000 to £100,000,000 and Bank of England |
£1,000,000 to £10,000,000 banknotes used for internal accounting only. |
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The top value banknote issued by the Bank of England was one thousand pounds (£1000). |
![](/news_and_info/features/millionpoundnote/1_mill_3.jpg)
Picture courtesy of the Daily Mail.
The 1953 comedy The Million Pound Note was based on a Mark Twain short story, about an
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impoverished American sailor, Henry Adams, who gets caught up in an unusual wager between
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two wealthy, eccentric brothers, Oliver (Ronald Squire) and Roderick Montpelier (Wilfrid Hyde-White).
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They persuade a bank to issue a million pound note which they present to Adams in an envelope
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(telling him only that it contains money). Oliver believes the mere existence of the note will enable
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the possessor to obtain whatever he needs, while Roderick contends that it would actually have to
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be spent for it to be of be of any use. Ultimately, the money proves more troublesome than it's worth,
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when it almost costs Adams his dignity and the woman he loves, Portia Lansdowne (Jane
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Griffiths). The film is a rather turgid affair, centering on a single gag, strung out for ninety minutes -
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a pauper has no friends, whereas a millionaire is surrounded by sycophancy and limitless credit.
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Markets deal in confidence rather than cash. Using the retail price index (RPI), which shows the
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cost of goods and services purchased by a typical household from one period to another, the
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equivalent of a million pounds in 1903 would be £73.8 million pounds today. |
Written by Paul Donnely courtesy of The Daily Mail |
![](/news_and_info/features/millionpoundnote/331_at_300.jpg)
Actual One Million Pound Note used by Gregory Peck in the film.
Facsmile copies have been produced on thick creamy paper in two versions.
The first in a limited edition of 1000.
The second a limited edition of 2500 with numbered certificate.
Genuine notes that have come up in Auction
Sotheby's 1988 Lot 1051 |
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Sotheby's 1991 Lot 331 |
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London Coin 2007 Lot 115 |
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Lot Description :- |
An amusing copy of theatrical quality loosely based on a traditional Bank of |
England 'White Note' design,with fictitious 'face value' of £1,000,000 , bearing |
a fictitious date 20 June 1903 and the facsimile signature 'S.K.Howard' , |
prepared for use as the principal 'prop' in the film 'The Million Pound Note', |
measuring 202mm x 265 mm. Nevertheless the Bank of England officials took |
a close interest in the prop. In view of its similarity to official English banknotes |
and to avoid any possible misunderstanding! |
![](/news_and_info/features/millionpoundnote/bank_of_disneyland__one_million_pounds__.jpg)
Promotional note from Walt Disney's The Happiest Millionaire 1967.
Note depicting Fred MacMurray, Greer Garson and Tommy Steele
![](/news_and_info/features/millionpoundnote/boe_1_000_000_kentfield_.jpg)
Specimen Bank of England Million pound note c.1990, used internally Copyright Bank of England
![](/news_and_info/features/millionpoundnote/treasury_£1_000_000_bofe_1948.jpg)
Treasury Certificate for one million Pounds 1948
![](/news_and_info/features/millionpoundnote/sutch.jpg)
![](/news_and_info/features/millionpoundnote/sutch_2.jpg)
Screaming Lord Sutch one million pound note of 1991, from his book
![](/news_and_info/features/millionpoundnote/1_000_000__jn.jpg)
Modern Spoof £1,000,000 banknote
![](/news_and_info/features/millionpoundnote/one_million_welsh_.jpg)
Welsh one million pound note by Haigh Williams
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