Catalog
10 Shillings Regular issue, Series B
| Issuer | Government of Gibraltar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Value | 10 Shillings (1/2) |
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| Obverse description | The note is printed in dark purple-brown on a pale ground, enclosed within an intricate guilloche border. A circular vignette at the top centre bears the Arms of Gibraltar — a castle with a key below — flanked by foliate sprays. Denomination counters displaying '10/−' appear in ornamental cartouches at the left and right, with bilingual value panels 'DIEZ CHELINES' beneath each. The central field carries the full legal tender text in letterpress, concluding with the issue date, the Colonial Treasurer's manuscript signature, and a statutory note referencing Ordinance 10 of 1914. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 10s/- DIEZ CHELINES THE GOVERNMENT OF GIBRALTAR hereby declares this Note to be of the value of TEN SHILLINGS and to be legal tender for that amount, and undertakes to redeem the said note in sterling money for the full face value at a date to be fixed hereafter by His Excellency the Governor. Gibraltar, 6th August, 1914. Colonial Treasurer { N.B. - This note is issued under the provisions of Ordinance 10 of 1914, and is secured by the said Ordinance on the assets and general Revenue of the Colony. |
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| Comments |
Gibraltar's 1914 currency notes were emergency issues prompted by the outbreak of war, part of a broader British colonial response to the hoarding of coins and the disruption of normal banking. The Government of Gibraltar — rather than a chartered bank — acted as direct issuer, an arrangement that reflected the territory's unusual constitutional position and its dependence on military rather than commercial financial infrastructure.
Series B notes of this type are genuinely scarce. Wartime issues from small garrison territories rarely survived in quantity; they circulated hard and were seldom preserved.