Catalog
2 Shillings
| Issuer | Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | GILBERT AND ELLICE ISLANDS COLONY THIS NOTE REPRESENTS A CHARGE UPON THE FUNDS OF THE GILBERT AND ELLICE ISLANDS COLONY GOVERNMENT IN THE SUM OF TWO SHILLINGS 2s. 0d. Acting Resident Commissioner. Treasurer. |
| Reverse description | Entirely plain, unprinted reverse on cream-toned paper stock, bearing no text, vignette, or ornamental device of any kind. |
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| Comments |
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony issued this note under wartime emergency conditions, part of a small series authorized when Japanese forces occupied the Gilbert Islands in late 1941–early 1942, severing normal supply lines and making coin shipments from Britain effectively impossible. The surviving colonial administration, operating from Funafuti in the Ellice Islands, needed something to keep commerce functioning.
The series is genuinely rare. Low original print runs, a small island population, tropical humidity, and wartime destruction all worked against survival. The 1942 Gilbert and Ellice emergency issues are among the scarcest Pacific colonial notes, and the 2 Shillings denomination consistently proves harder to find than the lower values.