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1 Pound Jersey Mercantile Union Bank
| Issuer | Jersey Mercantile Union Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1864 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Blue intaglio-printed note with a dense lace-like guilloche border enclosing three upper vignettes: a harbour scene with steam and sailing vessels at left, the arms of Jersey within a laurel wreath at centre, and an allegorical group of figures at right. The central text panel carries the promise-to-pay clause in a mixed roman and script typeface, with the denomination ONE POUND and place of issue ST. JERSEY printed in bold, the date 1st January 1864 completed in manuscript. Red serial numbers appear at left and right of the note panel, a manuscript countersignature appears at lower left, and the agent's manuscript signature reads For Le Bailly, Deslandes & Co. at lower right. The foot of the note bears the letterpress inscription ESTABLISHED IN 1834. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | JERSEY MERCANTILE UNION BANK / I Promise to pay the Bearer on Demand / ONE POUND St. JERSEY / For Le Bailly, Deslandes & Co. / ESTABLISHED IN 1834. |
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| Comments |
The Jersey Mercantile Union Bank was a short-lived institution — it collapsed in 1873, less than a decade after this note was issued, following the kind of overextension that killed several small Channel Island banks in the mid-Victorian period. Notes from the bank are genuinely rare survivors; most were either redeemed before the failure or lost entirely when the bank wound up.
Perkins, Bacon & Petch were the dominant force in security printing at this period, their steel intaglio process making plate forgery substantially harder than with lithographed alternatives. The choice was routine for any bank wanting credibility.