Catalog
5 Dollars Colonial Bank
| Issuer | Colonial Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1912-1915 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Black on orange underprint. The royal arms vignette is centred in the upper half of the note, flanked at left and right by two oval medallions each bearing the denomination numeral $5. The bank title COLONIAL BANK runs along the top margin and BRITISH GUIANA along the bottom. The promise-to-pay text, date, place of issue Georgetown, Demerary, and the authorising legend By order of the Court of Directors of the Colonial Bank occupy the central field, with a manuscript manager signature below. |
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| Obverse lettering | COLONIAL BANK We Promise to pay the Bearer on Demand the Sum of FIVE DOLLARS GEORGETOWN, DEMERARY By order of the Court of Directors of the Colonial Bank FIVE DOLLARS BRITISH GUIANA |
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| Comments |
The Colonial Bank was a British overseas institution chartered in 1836 primarily to serve the West Indies, though its network eventually extended to British Guiana and parts of West Africa. By the time this note was issued, the bank was already in the late stages of independence — Barclays Bank acquired it in 1917 through the formation of Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas), making this series among the final issues under the Colonial Bank name.
Perkins, Bacon & Petch had an established relationship with colonial and overseas banks throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, using steel intaglio techniques developed originally for postage stamp production. The security architecture on notes of this period reflects that stamp-printing lineage.