A collection of Bermuda banknotes from the 1960s has sold for more than $7,000 at auction.

A mint-condition ₤10 pre-decimalisation bill which was never circulated sold for $3,750 – by far the highest price tag of the 425 lots that went under the hammer. The note had expected to sell for between $2,000 and $3,000.

Perhaps an even bigger surprise to auctioneers was the popularity among collectors of a Bermuda ₤1 bill printed in 1966. Experts had estimated that the note would sell for between $200 and $400. The winning bidder ended up paying $1,700.

A third Bermuda note also proved popular with bidders, eventually selling for $800 on a price estimate of between $100 and $200.

The sale was held by World Banknote Auctions in Sacramento, California, last week.

The three Bermuda notes were the most valuable to go under the hammer, with most other lots selling for less than $500. A further 11 Bermuda bills sold for a total of $1,001 and all went for more than the original estimated prices.

Before the sale, Dennis Hengeveld of World Banknote Auctions said he expected the bills would fetch high prices.

“Bermuda notes are always popular, particularly with American collectors,” he told The Royal Gazette. “World paper money truly is one of the last frontiers in numismatics.

“For the past 15 years we have seen tremendous growth in the world paper money market, especially in the United States and Asia, as collectors discover the wide variety of paper money printed and used by nations from around the world.”