20 Afghanis

Bradbury Wilkinson produced this series for Kabul during a period when Afghanistan was actively modernizing its banking infrastructure under Da Afghanistan Bank, which had been formally established in 1939. The long date range — nearly a decade — reflects a deliberate policy of slow, staged introduction rather than a single issue event, with the notes circulating alongside older emissions as confidence in paper currency was gradually built among a population with strong preferences for metallic coinage.

Pick 31 is among the more commonly encountered Afghan notes from the period, though circulation wear is typically heavy. Watermark security was minimal by contemporary standards, appropriate for a country where counterfeiting infrastructure was extremely limited.