5 Dollars Government of Newfoundland, Cash Note

Newfoundland's cash notes occupy an unusual position in North American paper money history — issued directly by the colonial government rather than through a chartered bank, at a time when most of the island's monetary needs were met by the Bank of Montreal, the Bank of Nova Scotia, and local institutions like the Union Bank of Newfoundland. The Government of Newfoundland had statutory authority to issue its own notes, and this series was a deliberate exercise of that right.

Whitehead, Morris & Co. printed security documents across the British Empire but left a lighter footprint in major numismatic references than contemporaries like Bradbury Wilkinson or Waterlow. The P#A13 designation — the "A" prefix indicating an unlisted or provisional catalog status in the Pick system — reflects how thinly documented this issue remains.