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40 Cents
| Issuer | Government of Newfoundland, Department of Public Works |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901-1908 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#A4 |
| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on white paper. Central text panel reads the promise to pay forty cents, flanked by four ornate guilloche vignettes at each corner bearing the numeral 40. Title inscription NEWFOUNDLAND GOVERNMENT CASH NOTE arches across the top, with DEPARTMENT PUBLIC WORKS below. Serial numbers appear at upper left and right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse of white paper stock, showing heavy fold lines and surface wear consistent with circulation. No design elements, vignettes, or inscriptions are present. |
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| Comments |
Newfoundland's fractional currency notes were a practical fix for a chronic small-change shortage on the island, where coins — particularly lower denominations — consistently drained away to the mainland or simply wore out of circulation. The Department of Public Works, an unusual issuing authority by any standard, administered these notes under provincial fiscal arrangements that predated Confederation by decades.
The American Bank Note Company produced several Newfoundland series during this period, and their work here is characteristic of the firm's late Victorian output. The 40-cent denomination is the awkward middle value of the fractional series — rarer in surviving examples than the 25-cent notes, likely because it saw heavier transactional use in a place where that figure mapped neatly onto common retail prices of the day.