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10 Pounds
| Issuer | Port Elizabeth Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1871 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | PORT ELIZABETH BANK CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. Promise to pay to the Bearer on Demand at our Office the Sum of TEN POUNDS Value received Port Elizabeth By order of the Directors. For the Trustees. TEN POUNDS |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, consisting of plain cream-white cotton paper with no engraved or typeset design elements; faint manuscript endorsement traces are visible across the surface, consistent with typical usage of early Cape colonial bearer notes. |
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| Comments |
The Port Elizabeth Bank was one of several short-lived Cape Colony commercial banks that collapsed in the financial crisis of the 1880s, but this 1871 note predates that disaster by over a decade. William Brown of London produced notes for numerous colonial issuers during this period — the engraving work was shipped out and the notes returned for local signature and issue, a logistical arrangement that left most examples with at least two handwritten signatures across the face.
At the £10 denomination, circulation was limited almost entirely to commercial transactions. Surviving examples are rare; the bank's failure and subsequent receivership meant most remaining stock was surrendered or destroyed.