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15 Shillings
| Issuer | Post Wissel Kantoor (Postal Exchange Office), Orange Free State |
|---|---|
| Year | 1900 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 15 Shillings |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Orange and black letterpress note headed 'ORANJE VRIJ STAAT / POST NOOT' with a rectangular stamp vignette at upper left bearing the Orange Free State arms and inscribed 'COMMISSIE LOON / DRIE PENCE'. The denomination '15/-' appears in a boxed numeral at upper right, with the order text 'Aan het POSTWISSEL KANTOOR te... BETAAL aan...' printed in Dutch across the centre, above the large bold lettering 'VYFTIEN SHILLINGS'. Two circular cancellation stamps of the O.V.S. postal authority are impressed at lower left and lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ORANJE VRIJ STAAT POST NOOT VYFTIEN SHILLINGS DRIE PENCE 15/- |
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| Comments |
The Post Wissel Kantoor was pressed into service as a note-issuing body only after the Anglo-Boer War severed normal banking operations in the Orange Free State. The Boer authorities, unable to rely on the existing commercial banks — which had either closed or fallen under British influence — turned to the postal system as one of the few administrative structures still functioning under Republican control.
The 15 Shillings denomination is an odd one by any standard. Its existence almost certainly reflects an attempt to denominate notes in values useful for specific pay or procurement transactions rather than general circulation. Surviving examples are rare; wartime paper rarely lasted.