Catalog
4 Shillings
| Issuer | Bahamas Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 4 Shillings (1/5) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Green letterpress print on white paper with a decorative guilloche border framing the entire note. Floral vignettes appear at the left and right corners, with the colonial coat of arms of the Bahamas positioned at the right. The denomination, statutory title, and promise-to-pay text are printed in black, with the serial number in black ink. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green, the reverse presents a central architectural vignette of a classical government building rendered in fine line engraving, set within a decorative rectangular border of repeating scroll and foliate ornaments. |
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| Comments |
The Bahamas Government 4 Shillings note of 1919 is an oddity by any measure — four shillings was an unusual denomination nowhere else in British colonial currency of the period, and its appearance here reflects the practical arithmetic of local trade rather than any imperial standard. The City Press in Nassau printed this domestically, which was rare for colonial issues of the era; most dependencies relied on established metropolitan printers in London or Edinburgh.
Pick 1 status means this is the first listed Bahamian government paper issue, and surviving examples are genuinely scarce — the small population, tropical climate, and modest print runs conspired against preservation.