Catalog
1 Pound
| Issuer | Bermuda Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Printer | American Bank Note Company, Ottawa, Canada |
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| Obverse description | Executed in black intaglio over a green guilloche underprint with red serial numbers, the obverse bears the Bermuda Coat of Arms at left alongside the issuer title and denomination inscriptions. The date DECEMBER 2nd 1914 is printed across the face, with the countersignature of the Receiver General applied below the principal text. The printer's imprint of the American Bank Note Company, Ottawa, appears at the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green, the reverse is composed of a symmetrical engine-turned guilloche field of fine lathe-work rosettes and geometric borders. The denomination £1 is set within ornate cartouches at left and right, with the issuer title BERMUDA GOVERNMENT positioned centrally within an elaborate foliate vignette. The printer's imprint appears in small lettering at the lower centre. |
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| Comments |
Bermuda's first government-issued paper currency, authorized under the Bermuda Paper Currency Act of 1914. Before this series, the island had relied entirely on sterling coin and private bank notes from the Bank of Bermuda — the outbreak of war that year created the coin shortages that finally forced the government's hand.
The American Bank Note Company's Ottawa plant, opened in 1908 as ABNCo's Canadian subsidiary, handled the printing. Surviving examples are rare; the issue was limited, the series short-lived, and redemption thorough.