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1 Shilling Cut piece of 2 Shillings
| Issuer | Government of Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 64 × 38 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 1/- ONE SHILLING Issued by the Govt. of Cyprus. |
| Reverse description | Printed in black over a light blue guilloche underprint composed of intricate interlaced geometric knotwork vignettes. A continuous scroll border runs along the lower edge, and a surcharge notation is overprinted at the upper left. The design is consistent with the reverse of the parent 2 Shillings emergency note from which this cut piece originates. |
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| Comments |
Cyprus's wartime fiscal measures pushed the colonial administration into some awkward solutions. The 2 Shillings note (P#11) was officially bisected and each half declared legal tender for 1 Shilling — a practice more common to stamps than to banknotes, and a frank acknowledgment that small-denomination currency was simply unavailable in sufficient quantity during and immediately after the First World War.
The cut itself was meant to be diagonal, making each half visually distinct. Notes with straight or irregular cuts — and there are many — raise questions about whether the bisection was done officially or in the field.