Catalog
10 Shillings
| Issuer | Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd., Durban |
|---|---|
| Year | 1889 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in red-orange and dark brown on white cotton paper. At centre, a classical allegorical female vignette is flanked by two cartouches each bearing the denomination '10/' and 'TEN SHILLINGS' in bold letterpress. The lower portion carries the issuing branch inscription 'DURBAN,' with the manuscript date '1st May 1889', serial numbers 'E7987' repeated at upper left and right, and a large guilloche underprint with 'TEN SHILLINGS' in bold across the centre field. |
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| Obverse lettering | THE STANDARD BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED TEN SHILLINGS 10/ DURBAN E7987 |
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| Comments |
W.W. Sprague & Co. produced banknotes for numerous colonial institutions during this period, and their work for the Standard Bank's Durban branch follows the house style of the era — engraved, detailed, and printed on imported cotton stock. The Standard Bank had operated in Natal since the 1860s, and by 1889 its Durban branch was handling substantial trade finance tied to the port's growing sugar and wool export traffic.
Branch-specific issues like this one, payable at a single office rather than across the full network, were already becoming administratively awkward for a bank expanding rapidly through southern Africa. This series was not long in production before head office consolidation rendered local branch notes redundant.