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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 although a few Treasury £1,000,000 Certificates were used |
| for internal accounting between clearing banks. |
| The top value banknote issued by the Bank of England was a one thousand pound note. |
Picture courtesy of the Daily Mail.
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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, centreing 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 |
Actual One Million Pound Note used by Gregory Peck in the film.
Fake copies are known to exist.
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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| 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 202 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! |
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Treasury Certificate for one million Pounds 1948
Modern Spoof £1,000,000 banknote.
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