London CNN —A record-breaking series of auctions of King Charles III banknotes has raised £914,127 ($1.2 million) for 10 UK charities, according to the Bank of England. The banknotes, auctioned by Spink & Sons over the summer, sold for 11.7 times their face value of £78,430 ($100,318), as collectors snapped up some of the first versions of the new cash to roll off the printing presses. The runaway success of the auctions highlights the value that collectors attach to banknotes with especially low serial numbers, which denote that they are among the first to be printed. “Lucky numbers” also attracted high bids, according to Spink & Sons. Two £5 notes with serial numbers ending in 88 and 888 were auctioned for £2,200 ($2,800) and £2,400 ($3,100).

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Persons: King Charles III, King Charles, BOE, Queen Elizabeth II, ”, Gregory Edmund, ” Edmund, Sarah John, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth, Churchill, London — Organizations: London CNN, Bank of England, Spink & Sons, Spink, CNN, WWF, Trussell, British Locations: United Kingdom, BOE, British, London