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5 Pounds
| Issuer | Commandant of Koffyfontein |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in blue on plain paper, the note bears the heading 'Koffyfontein Besieged' along the top border. To the left, a vignette of the Union Jack flag is rendered in a simple engraved style, flanked by a diamond-shaped serial number panel. To the right, a circular guilloche cartouche carries the large numeral '5' with 'POUNDS' inscribed around its border. The central text reads the promise-to-pay legend in full, culminating in a manuscript signature above the issuer inscription 'Commandant. Koffyfontein. Orange River Colony.' |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Koffyfontein Besieged I promise to pay Bearer on Demand at Koffyfontein O.R.C. the sum of FIVE POUNDS sterling if presented for payment before January 1st 1901. MAJOR. Commandant. Koffyfontein. Orange River Colony. |
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| Comments |
Koffyfontein was a diamond mining town in the Orange Free State, occupied by British forces in 1900. This note was issued under Boer authority during the guerrilla phase of the Anglo-Boer War, when the Republican government had collapsed as a formal entity and local commandants were improvising monetary instruments to requisition supplies and pay fighters in the field. These emergency issues were handwritten or crudely printed in small quantities and backed by nothing more than the issuing officer's word.
Survival rate is low not because of heavy use but because the British treated captured Boer paper as worthless upon surrender in May 1902.