Catalog
10 Dollars - George VI Olive-brown
| Issuer | Government of British Honduras |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939-1942 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Brown intaglio print over a multicolour guilloche underprint, with the entire field composed of intricate geometric lathe-work. Two large oval vignettes flank a central cartouche carrying the issuer inscription, with ornate floral and scroll work filling the intervening areas. |
| Reverse lettering | THE GOVERNMENT OF BRITISH HONDURAS |
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| Comments |
British Honduras issued this series against a backdrop of wartime austerity and genuine currency scarcity — the colony's economy, heavily dependent on chicle and mahogany exports, was already contracting before the war further disrupted trade. High-denomination notes like this ten-dollar piece saw limited everyday circulation; they moved primarily between merchants and government accounts rather than through ordinary hands.
Bradbury, Wilkinson's intaglio work for British colonial issues of this period was consistently precise, and the olive-brown coloration was a deliberate wartime measure to complicate counterfeiting with then-available photographic reproduction technology. Pick 23 survivors with intact paper are uncommon — the humid lowland climate of Belize was punishing on paper currency.