Catalog
1 Dollar
| Issuer | Treasury of Liberia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1876-1880 |
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| Reference(s) | P#12 |
| Obverse description | Central vignette of a sailing ship on open water, framed within an oval border, positioned at upper centre beneath the arched legend REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA. The denomination ONE DOLLAR is printed vertically in large letters along both left and right margins, with the text of the promise to pay inscribed in cursive script across the centre field. The place and date of issue, Monrovia, appear in manuscript at lower centre, with two manuscript signature lines below attributed to the Treasurer and Secretary of the Treasury respectively. |
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| Obverse lettering | REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA RECEIVABLE FOR DUTIES ON DEMAND AT THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT THE TREASURER OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA WILL PAY TO BEARER ONE DOLLAR ONE DOLLAR |
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| Comments |
The Treasury of Liberia issued this note during a period of chronic fiscal strain — the republic had defaulted on its British loan in 1874 and was operating under severe budgetary constraints. These treasury notes were effectively an emergency currency, filling a gap left by the near-total absence of coin in everyday commerce.
Pick 12 is among the rarest of Liberian nineteenth-century issues. The paper itself was prone to damage in the West African climate, and very few examples survived in any condition.