Catalog
10 Pounds
| Issuer | Colonial Bank of Natal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 10 Pounds |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | COLONIAL BANK OF NATAL CBN We Promise to pay the Bearer on Demand at our Office here Ten Pounds Sterling VALUE RECEIVED Pietermaritzburg, Natal Ten Pounds By order of the Board of Directors For The Trustees Manager |
| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely plain, printed on unadorned white cotton paper with no design, text, or ornamentation, consistent with early colonial-era South African banknote practice. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Colonial Bank of Natal was a short-lived institution, established in 1860 and absorbed into the broader Cape-colonial banking consolidation within a few years. This 1862 issue is among the earliest examples of locally printed banknotes for the Natal territory — Saul Solomon & Co. was primarily a newspaper and job printer in Cape Town, not a specialist security printer, which raises legitimate questions about the sophistication of the anti-forgery measures employed.
At the ten-pound denomination, this would have circulated almost exclusively in commercial and mercantile transactions. Surviving examples are extremely rare.