Catalog
20 Shillings
| Issuer | Government of Nigeria |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Reference(s) | P#1B |
| Obverse description | Printed in dark green on cream paper by letterpress. Country name NIGERIA appears at top centre flanked by decorative scrollwork, with "Government of Nigeria" in italic script below; the denomination TWENTY SHILLINGS is set within a guilloche-bordered panel at centre, with 20/- numerals at left and right. Legal tender clause, place and date (Lagos, December 1918), and Treasurer's signature appear in the lower portion, with serial number at lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Signature(s) | D.S. MacGregor |
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| Comments |
Nigeria's earliest paper currency was authorized under the West African Currency Board, but this 1918 issue carries the Government of Nigeria imprint directly — a consequence of wartime disruption to normal WACB supply channels. Local printing in Lagos was an improvised solution; the metropolitan printers simply could not reliably service West African territories during the later years of the First World War.
MacGregor's signature as signatory places this in a very narrow administrative window. Notes locally produced under these conditions are typically rough by metropolitan standards, and the paper stock used in Lagos was not purpose-made currency stock.