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20 Piastres Siege of Khartoum
| Issuer | General Charles George Gordon (Governor-General of the Sudan) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1884 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Piastre (1885-1956) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | TITO FICA... Avocat à la Cour d'Appel DE CAIRE |
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| Variants | P#S104a - Handwritten signature P#S104b - Hectographic reproduction of signature |
| Comments |
Gordon issued these notes during the ten-month siege that began in March 1884, after Egyptian and Sudanese troops were cut off in Khartoum by Mahdist forces. With no way to pay the garrison or sustain civilian confidence, he improvised a currency from whatever paper stock was available inside the city — signed by hand and backed by nothing more than his personal authority and the assumption that relief would arrive.
It didn't. Khartoum fell on 26 January 1885, two days before Wolseley's relief column reached the city. Gordon was killed. Notes that survived the sack were scattered; most that exist today were almost certainly carried out before the fall or removed afterward as trophies.