Catalog
1 Pound Emergency issue, Series A
| Issuer | Government of Gibraltar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gibraltar, 6th August, 1914. £ 1 (Una Libra.) The Government of Gibraltar hereby declares this Note to be of the value of ONE POUND and to be legal tender for that amount, and undertakes to redeem the said note in sterling money for the full face value at a date to be fixed hereafter by His Excellency the Governor. Colonial Treasurer. N.B. - This note is issued under the provisions of Ordinance 10 of 1914, and is secured by the said Ordinance on the assets and general Revenue of the Colony. |
| Reverse description | Reverse is entirely blank, without any text, vignette, or printed design. |
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| Comments |
Issued at the outbreak of the First World War when gold and silver coinage was immediately hoarded and commerce threatened to seize up entirely, this emergency note was rushed out by the Gibraltar government with minimal preparation. Britain's Currency and Bank Notes Act of August 1914 triggered similar emergency paper issues across the Empire simultaneously, and Gibraltar's response came within weeks.
Pick 3 is genuinely rare. The Series A issue had a limited print run and saw hard use in a garrison town with a transient military population — conditions that destroyed paper quickly. Few examples survived in any collectible state.