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10 Pounds Bank of Auckland, orange reverse
| Issuer | Bank of Auckland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1865-1866 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 202 × 121 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette in intaglio engraving at upper centre portrays two allegorical female figures — one seated and one standing — flanking a shield, with sailing ships visible in the background, beneath the bank title in ornate script and the legend 'INCORPORATED BY ACT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY'. Guilloche rosettes enclosing the numeral '10' occupy the upper left and upper right corners. The lower left carries a rectangular panel with the word 'TEN' in bold letterpress, with fields for manuscript entry of the date, number, accountant, and manager signature, along with the promise-to-pay text in copperplate script. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in orange, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate guilloche border and intricate lathe-work geometric underprint filling the field. At centre, an oval vignette presents an allegorical female figure wearing a floral wreath and holding a sheaf of wheat, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. Guilloche panels bearing the numeral '10' are positioned symmetrically to the left and right of the central oval. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Auckland was one of several provincial New Zealand banks competing fiercely for deposit business during the gold rush years of the 1860s. Its notes circulated alongside those of at least four other note-issuing banks in the Auckland region alone, and public confidence in any given issuer was fragile — bank failures elsewhere in the colony were fresh in memory.
Charles Skipper & East produced the plates in London, as was routine for colonial issuers who lacked access to security printers locally. The orange reverse was a deliberate differentiator, used to distinguish this denomination from lower values in the same series at a glance — a practical necessity in a circulation environment where literacy was uneven.
The Bank of Auckland was absorbed into the Bank of New Zealand in 1867, cutting the active life of this series very short.