10 Pounds

Fiji's pre-decimal high-denomination issues were never intended for everyday commerce. The 10 Pound value — substantial even by colonial standards — circulated primarily among merchants, plantation operators, and the colonial administration itself, with most transactions settled in smaller currency. Survivor numbers are thin for that reason: these notes changed hands rarely, and those that did often suffered from the tropics.

De La Rue produced the series on contract for the Government of Fiji — a direct government issue, not a bank note — at a time when Fiji had no central bank of its own. That arrangement continued until well after this series expired.