The National Bank of Egypt was established by charter in 1898 — a private institution, majority-financed by foreign capital, that was handed the right of note issue almost immediately. This note, from the bank's earliest series, predates the formal entrenchment of the gold standard in Egypt and was issued into a monetary environment still transitioning away from the chaotic overlapping currencies of the late Khedival period.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced the plates in London, which was entirely routine for colonial-adjacent banking institutions of the period. The dual signatures of Palmer and Rowlatt place this among the earliest signed issues — Rowlatt served as secretary, Palmer as the bank's first governor.
The National Bank of Egypt was established by charter in 1898 — a private institution, majority-financed by foreign capital, that was handed the right of note issue almost immediately. This note, from the bank's earliest series, predates the formal entrenchment of the gold standard in Egypt and was issued into a monetary environment still transitioning away from the chaotic overlapping currencies of the late Khedival period.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced the plates in London, which was entirely routine for colonial-adjacent banking institutions of the period. The dual signatures of Palmer and Rowlatt place this among the earliest signed issues — Rowlatt served as secretary, Palmer as the bank's first governor.