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10 Shillings Bank of New Zealand, With numerals in upper corners
| Issuer | Bank of New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Value | 10 Shillings (1/2) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by two oval vignettes set within an intricate guilloche border: at left, a Maori figure stands beside a whare with a second figure seated nearby, and at right, two kiwis are shown amid a palm tree and a volcanic cone. The bank title 'BANK OF NEW ZEALAND' appears in bold gothic lettering across the upper centre, with the denomination 'TEN SHILLINGS' rendered in large intaglio text at mid-field. Numeral '10' denominators occupy each upper corner, and the issue date and place 'WELLINGTON 1st Day of April 1917' are printed across the lower centre panel above the signature line. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK OF NEW ZEALAND INCORPORATED BY ACT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON DEMAND WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER TEN SHILLINGS WELLINGTON FOR THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND TEN SHILLINGS |
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| Comments |
The Bank of New Zealand was a privately chartered institution when it issued this note — the Reserve Bank of New Zealand wouldn't be established until 1934, meaning private banks still shouldered full responsibility for note issue in the Dominion. The 1917 date places this squarely in the middle of the First World War, when sterling-zone banks faced genuine pressure on specie reserves and public confidence in paper currency was not guaranteed.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced a substantial portion of the southern hemisphere's commercial banknote output during this period, and their work for New Zealand banks was characteristically tight in intaglio registration. The "with numerals in upper corners" designation distinguishes this from an earlier plate variant — a running modification to the series rather than a separate issue, catalogued separately precisely because the two types circulated concurrently.