Catalog
10 Shillings
| Issuer | Barclays Bank D.C.O. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1954-1958 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in red, the reverse is dominated by a large circular vignette at centre containing a sailing ship on open water, enclosed within a ring bearing the legend BARCLAYS BANK D.C.O. An ornate guilloche border frames the entire note, with denomination panels in all four corners and trilingual denomination inscriptions along the lower register. The printer's imprint of Waterlow & Sons Limited, London, appears in small lettering at the bottom centre. |
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| Variants | P#4a - date and signatures in red P#4b - date and signatures in black |
| Comments |
Barclays Bank D.C.O. — Dominion, Colonial and Overseas — occupied an unusual position in African banking history: a British commercial bank authorized to issue its own currency in multiple territories simultaneously. This 10 Shillings note was issued for Bechuanaland Protectorate, Swaziland, and Basutoland, three territories that lacked their own central banking infrastructure and relied on Barclays to fill the gap. The arrangement suited colonial convenience more than sound monetary architecture.
Waterlow & Sons had been producing currency for British colonial territories since the nineteenth century, and by the mid-1950s their relationship with Barclays D.C.O. was well established. The series was withdrawn as each territory progressed toward its own monetary institutions in the 1960s.