Catalog
1 Pound
| Issuer | Bank of Western Samoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1959-1961 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#11 |
| Obverse description | Printed in brown on a fine guilloche underprint, the obverse bears a central vignette of a traditional Samoan fale (thatched dwelling) set within an ornate frame. The denomination ONE POUND appears in an oval cartouche above the vignette, with serial numbers flanking both sides and a date line reading Wellington below. Two manuscript signatures appear at lower left and lower right, identified as High Commissioner and Financial Secretary of Western Samoa respectively, with the overprint BANK OF WESTERN SAMOA printed in red across the lower portion of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in blue and red on a plain light ground, the reverse displays an elaborate symmetrical guilloche pattern composed of interlocking geometric rosettes and scroll-work corner pieces. A large stylised £1 numeral occupies the central field beneath the legend TREASURY NOTE, with POUND denomination tablets set in decorative cartouches at left and right. The inscriptions TERRITORY OF and WESTERN SAMOA arc above and below the central design respectively. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Western Samoa was still a New Zealand-administered United Nations trust territory when this note circulated — independence came in January 1962, meaning the Bank of Western Samoa was issuing currency under a political arrangement with a defined expiration date. Bradbury Wilkinson, working from their New Malden facility, produced the series during that transitional window, and the pound denomination itself would be short-lived: Western Samoa adopted the tālā and sene system in 1967, rendering the entire pound series obsolete within a decade of issue.
Notes from this period are genuinely scarce in used grades — the island's small population and limited banking infrastructure meant fewer entered everyday circulation.