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1 Pound
| Issuer | Treasury of Western Samoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922-1942 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Pound |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in purple-brown on a fine guilloche underprint, the obverse bears a central intaglio vignette of a traditional Samoan fale (thatched house) surrounded by palm trees, set within an ornate frame. The denomination ONE POUND appears in a rectangular panel above the vignette, flanked by serial numbers at upper left and right, with the place of issue WELLINGTON printed below. Two manuscript signatures appear at centre, identified below as Minister of External Affairs for New Zealand and Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | TERRITORY OF TREASURY NOTE WESTERN SAMOA £1 POUND POUND |
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| Comments |
Western Samoa was a League of Nations mandate under New Zealand administration from 1920, and the Treasury — not a central bank — was the issuing authority throughout this period precisely because no proper banking infrastructure existed on the islands. Bradbury Wilkinson held longstanding contracts across the British imperial and Commonwealth world, and their work on this series is consistent with their output for other administered territories of the period.
The twenty-year span across which P#8 was current reflects not policy stability but sheer remoteness — there was little administrative urgency to update the currency when circulation volumes were small and supply logistics difficult. Notes returned to the Treasury were often simply reissued rather than destroyed.