Catalog
4 Shillings - George V
| Issuer | Bahamas Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1930 |
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| Currency | Pound (Before 1966) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green, the reverse centres on a large vignette of the British Royal coat of arms set within an ornate circular guilloche frame, flanked by two pastoral scenes — a harvesting scene at left and a tropical field landscape at right. The denomination "4/-" appears in elaborate guilloche cartouches at all four corners, with "THE BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT" inscribed in a bold banner along the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | 4/- FOUR SHILLINGS THE BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT DIEU ET MON DROIT HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED, LONDON WALL. LONDON, E.C. (Translation: God and my right. Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it.) |
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| Comments |
The Bahamas Government's pre-decimal currency included a 4 Shilling denomination that had no equivalent anywhere in the British Empire — it existed solely to represent one-fifth of a Bahamian pound, a local accounting convenience rather than any imperial standard. Waterlow & Sons printed the series for several colonial territories during this period, and the Bahamas issues are among the rarer commissions, reflecting the colony's small population and limited note demand.
Pick 5 is genuinely scarce. Surviving examples in any grade are infrequently offered.