Catalog
10 Pounds
| Issuer | African Banking Corporation Limited, Durban |
|---|---|
| Year | 189_ |
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| Value | 10 Pounds |
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| Obverse description | Executed in finely engraved intaglio in black on white, characteristic of late 19th-century colonial banknote production, the obverse carries the bank title 'AFRICAN BANKING CORPORATION LIMITED' across the upper register, with 'NATAL' in a cartouche above and denomination numeral '10' in ornate corner panels. At left, a classical vignette presents a standing allegorical female figure in draped robes holding a staff, set within an arched architectural frame, with 'TEN POUNDS' inscribed in a panel beneath. The lower portion bears a promise-to-pay clause, the place name 'DURBAN' with a partial date '189_', and signature lines for Accountant and Manager. |
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| Obverse lettering | NATAL AFRICAN BANKING CORPORATION LIMITED. No Promise to pay the Bearer on Demand the sum of TEN POUNDS Sterling at their Office here. DURBAN, 189 for African Banking Corporation Limited. ACCOUNTANT MANAGER TEN POUNDS TEN |
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The African Banking Corporation was a British colonial bank incorporated in London in 1879, operating branches across southern Africa during the mining boom years. Its Durban branch issued notes independently, as was common practice for colonial banks of the period — each branch maintained its own liability and its notes were not automatically honored elsewhere in the network.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced the plates in London, but the manuscript date completion — the "189_" format — means individual notes were dated at the branch counter, leaving the precise issue year unknown unless a specific example survives with its handwritten date intact. High-denomination colonial branch notes of this type had extremely limited circulation and most were retired or destroyed when the ABC was absorbed into Standard Bank in 1920.