A Premium Bonds saver has bagged a £50,000 prize with a holding of just £7 in this month’s draw.
The winner, from Scotland, purchased the bond 54 years ago – in June 1971.
It means their original investment of £5 in 1971 has ballooned by 999,900 per cent to £50,000 today.
The £50,000 prize is the third largest prize tier in the draw and this month there were 151 handed out.
The winners of the fabled £1million jackpot prize this month came from North East Scotland and Greater Manchester.
The winner from Scotland has a holding of £10,150 and purchased their winning bond in April 2022. They are the 30th jackpot winner from Scotland.
The winner from Greater Manchester holds £34,350 and bought their winning bond in January 2023. This makes them the fourth jackpot winner from the area.
This month there were more than six million Premium Bonds prizes worth over £399million won by holders.
The odds of winning a prize remain at 22,000 to one and in this month’s draw there were two £1million prizes, 76 £100,000 prizes and 151 £50,000 prizes.
Unclaimed prizes in Manchester
While one of this month’s Premium Bonds prize winners hails from Manchester, there are a number of big unclaimed prizes there too.
A £100,000 prize from September 2010 is yet to be claimed by a Premium Bonds holder from Greater Manchester, and there are also two unclaimed £50,000 prizes due to be claimed by Premium Bonds holders in Manchester, NS&I says.
Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, says: ‘Sometimes people don’t update their contact details with us, which can lead to unclaimed prizes.’
NS&I doesn’t actively track down prize winners but has a small team that will help trace old bond numbers when contacted via this link.
They should be able to help even if you have moved address and do not know where your bonds are registered or if you have lost old paper certificates.
If you have an ancient Premium Bond and want to check if it has won any prizes, you can register an original paper bond online or by calling NS&I on 08085 007 007.
If you do not have internet access or can’t print off a form, you can phone NS&I and it will post a form to you.
