Catalog
1 Pound
| Issuer | Colonial Bank of Natal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S431 |
| Obverse description | The face of the note carries the bank title 'COLONIAL BANK OF NATAL' in bold letterpress at upper centre, flanked by the serial number 'No 0607' at upper left and the denomination '£1' at upper right. A central vignette contains the bank's monogram 'CBN' within an ornamental cartouche. The promise-to-pay text reads 'We Promise to pay the Bearer on Demand at our Office here ONE POUND Sterling VALUE RECEIVED', with the place of issue 'Pietermaritzburg, Natal' and a manuscript date of the 1st day of May 1862 below, followed by the authorisation 'By order of the Board of Directors' with two manuscript signatures and the notation 'FOR THE TRUSTEES'. A rectangular letterpress panel at lower left bears the words 'ONE POUND' in bold relief, with the manager's countersignature and name at foot. |
|---|---|
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| Variants | P#S431 - 01.05.1862 P#S431 - 23.05.1864 |
| Comments |
The Colonial Bank of Natal was a short-lived institution, incorporated in the Cape Colony and operating branches in Natal during the 1860s before being absorbed into larger banking interests. Saul Solomon & Co. was the dominant Cape Town printer of the period, producing government documents, newspapers, and banknotes from their Queen Street press — their banknote work was competent but not engraved to the standard of the London security printers, relying instead on letterpress and lithographic techniques more typical of colonial job printing.
Natal was still a young Crown Colony in 1862, barely a decade past separate colonial status, with a banking sector that remained thin and contested throughout the period.