Catalog
1 Guinea = 1 Pound 1 Shilling Castle Rushen
| Issuer | Castle Rushen, Isle of Man |
|---|---|
| Year | 1790-1799 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black ink on plain paper stock. The crowned arms of the Isle of Man appear at the left, with a vignette of Rushen Castle positioned at the upper centre. The denomination is rendered in large copperplate script at centre in Guineas, with the equivalent value in Pounds and Shillings inscribed below in smaller letterpress text. |
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| Obverse lettering | ISLE OF MAN Castle Rushen One Guinea On Demand I promise to pay the Bearer ONE POUND ONE SHILLING British value received |
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| Comments |
Castle Rushen was one of several small Manx private issuers operating before the Isle of Man Banking Company consolidated much of the island's paper currency in the nineteenth century. The guinea denomination — one pound one shilling — is a peculiarly British institution, used in professional and trade transactions long after guinea coins had ceased to be struck, and its appearance on a provincial private note from a jurisdiction outside the Bank of England's reach reflects how deeply embedded the unit was in commercial practice.
The 1790s dating places this squarely in a period when counterfeit detection on small private issues was nearly impossible for ordinary recipients.