10 Pounds

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.