Catalog
25 Dollars - Charles Vyner Brooke
| Issuer | Government of Sarawak |
|---|---|
| Year | 1929 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central intaglio portrait vignette of Charles Vyner Brooke in military uniform, flanked by palm tree vignettes at left and right against a yellow-green guilloche underprint, with the Sarawak coat of arms below the portrait. Denomination numerals appear in all four corners and in two oval cartouches to either side of the central vignette. Multilingual denomination text appears at the lower margin in English, Arabic, and Chinese scripts. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE GOVERNMENT OF SARAWAK PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND AT KUCHING 25 DOLLARS 25 DOLLARS LOCAL CURRENCY FOR VALUE RECEIVED 1st July 1929 TREASURER OF SARAWAK |
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| Comments |
Bradbury, Wilkinson produced this note for the third and last White Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Vyner Brooke, whose family had governed the territory as a personal fiefdom since James Brooke received it from the Sultan of Brunei in 1841. The 1929 series was printed during a period of relative prosperity built on rubber and pepper revenues — the Depression would hit Sarawak hard within months of issue.
The $25 denomination is the awkward middle value of the series and consequently sees less collector traffic than the high values, despite being genuinely scarce in circulated grades.