Catalog
1 Rupee
| Issuer | Government of Seychelles |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Blank face showing the bleed-through impression of the obverse text and the embossed circular official treasury seal, visible in relief against the plain unprinted paper surface. |
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| Signature(s) | Gaston Humes, Governor |
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| Comments |
The Government of Seychelles issued paper currency directly — not through a chartered bank — and this 1 Rupee from 1919 reflects that administrative arrangement, common among small British crown colonies that lacked the transaction volume to justify a full banking infrastructure. Gaston Humes served as Governor of Seychelles from 1918 to 1921, which tightly brackets the possible signing window for this note.
The impressed stamp as the sole security feature was already an antiquated choice by 1919, relying on physical paper compression rather than any printed device. Survivors in collectable condition are genuinely rare — the Seychelles population at the time was under 25,000, meaning total print runs were small and attrition was high in a humid, tropical island environment.