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10 Pounds 'National Bank'
| Issuer | National Bank of Libya |
|---|---|
| Year | 1958 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The Libyan royal coat of arms, enclosed within an ornate octagonal guilloche frame surmounted by a crown, occupies the left-centre of the note. Arabic text of the bank name and denomination appears at upper right and centre respectively, accompanied by a serial number in both Arabic-Indic and Western numerals. Palm trees, wheat ears, and floral sprigs form decorative vignettes in the background, with intricate geometric borderwork in brown and orange tones framing the entire composition. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is arranged symmetrically with three arched guilloche panels across the centre field, the middle of which bears the bold intaglio denomination legend. The upper border carries the issuing bank name in English, with a legal tender clause above the central panel and an additional authority inscription at the foot reading that the note was issued in the name of King Idris I under the law of 26th April 1955. Corner numerals repeat the value '10' within ornate cartouches, and the overall colour scheme combines deep brown, mauve, and pale green guilloche underprints. |
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| Comments |
The National Bank of Libya was established in 1955, just four years after the country's independence under King Idris — a remarkably short runway from colonial banking arrangements to a sovereign institution issuing its own high-denomination notes. This 10 Pound note, printed by Bradbury Wilkinson at their New Malden works, appeared during a period of acute economic transition, before oil revenues had transformed Libyan public finances. The 1959 oil discoveries would render this entire monetary chapter almost immediately obsolete.
Bradbury Wilkinson's intaglio work on this series is notably fine for a first-generation issue from a young central bank with limited ordering leverage.