A £5 note, estimated to be worth £20,000, which was spent in Blackwood last week has been found, Caerphilly Observer can reveal.
On Thursday December 8, artist Graham Short spent a uniquely engraved £5 note in the Square Cafe, Blackwood, in a move not too dissimilar to that of popular Roald Dahl character, Willy Wonka.
The £5 note was engraved with a portrait of Jane Austen as part of an art project by the Birmingham-based artist, which aims to put some of Short’s art – which has previously sold for six-figure sums – back into the hands of ordinary people.
Mr Short, who specialises in small-scale engravings, distributed four unique £5 notes across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
After news broke on Monday, the fortune hunt has been on for the special fiver, with Caerphilly County Borough residents furiously checking their wallets, purses, and behind the sofa.
However, the engraved note has been found by a woman who wishes to remain anonymous, and is the first of the four to have been located.
The woman, described as an “older art fan”, will not be cashing in the note or putting it up for auction, and will instead keep the limited edition piece in the family as an investment.
The note was engraved with the quote – “A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.” – from Austen’s 1814 novel Mansfield Park.
Earlier this week, Mr Short, 70, said: “I’m always looking to do something different and as soon as I saw the new £5 note I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be good if I could engrave something on it?’
“I didn’t know what, but then I found out it was going to be the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death and her image is also going on the new £10 note, so it ties in nicely with that.
“I’ve no idea how much they will be worth but £20,000 is a conservative estimate – previous pieces I’ve done have been insured for more than £50,000 and the last work, the portrait of HM The Queen on the eye of a needle fetched £100,000.
“So, we came up with the idea of putting a note into each of the countries and I had a nice trip to Caerphilly last week to spend one in the Square Café. Now, I’m just hoping someone finds it in time to get some extra money for Christmas.”