Catalog
5 Dollars - Charles Vyner Brooke
| Issuer | Government of Sarawak |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938 |
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| Value | 5 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE GOVERNMENT OF SARAWAK PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND AT KUCHING FIVE DOLLARS LOCAL CURRENCY FOR VALUE RECEIVED |
| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a large central geometric vignette of intricate lathe-work guilloche design, with the denomination numeral '5' enclosed within a circular medallion at its centre, inscribed 'DOLLARS' below. The overall composition is framed by an ornate border with radiating starburst motifs at the cardinal points. The legends 'THE GOVERNMENT OF' and 'SARAWAK' arc above and below the central vignette respectively. |
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| Comments |
Charles Vyner Brooke was the third and last White Rajah of Sarawak, ruling under a unique private sovereignty — not a Crown Colony arrangement — that had persisted in his family since James Brooke received the territory from the Sultan of Brunei in 1841. The 1938 issue predates the Japanese occupation by only a few years; when Japanese forces took Kuching in December 1941, Sarawak's currency system collapsed entirely and these notes were rendered worthless in circulation almost overnight.
Bradbury Wilkinson's work for the Brooke regime was consistently well-executed, and the 1938 series benefited from the firm's standard intaglio security printing. The P#21 designation covers a relatively short window of legitimate circulation — under four years before occupation, and Vyner Brooke's formal cession of Sarawak to the British Crown in 1946 meant no post-war restoration of the private rajah's currency.