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1 Pound
| Issuer | National Bank of South Africa Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Value | 1 Pound |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is executed in blue-green intaglio, dominated by an elaborate guilloche framework with interlocking scrollwork borders and rosette ornaments in each corner. A large central medallion contains a map of the African continent, surrounded by the circular legend THE NATIONAL BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA. The denomination numeral 1 appears on both lateral panels within guilloche ovals, and the inscription SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED is set in a straight panel at the base of the central vignette. |
| Reverse lettering | THE NATIONAL BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED ONE POUND |
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| Comments |
The National Bank of South Africa Limited was a commercial bank, not a central bank — it operated under private charter and issued notes alongside several competing institutions before the South African Reserve Bank absorbed the currency-issuing function in 1921. This note sits at that precise transition point; the Reserve Bank opened in June 1921, and private bank issues were progressively withdrawn from circulation over the following years.
Waterlow & Sons had printed South African commercial bank notes for decades by this date, and the quality of their intaglio work was consistent enough that the public generally trusted privately issued paper more than many governments managed with their own production.
P#S119 is scarce in any grade — the withdrawal and destruction of private issues was thorough.