Catalog
5 Pounds
| Issuer | Government of Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Year | 1930-1936 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Green intaglio-printed note with an intricate guilloche border framing the entire face. At right, an ornate cartouche encloses a portrait of King George V facing left. The denomination £5 appears in a panel to the lower right of the portrait, while the trilingual value inscription — in Greek (ΠΕΝΤΕ ΛΙΡΑΙ), Arabic, and English (FIVE POUNDS) — is centered across the note above the issuing authority legend. The date and Commissioner of Currency signature appear in manuscript at lower center, with the serial number printed in two positions at upper left and lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS |
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| Comments |
Cyprus was still a Crown Colony when this series was issued, and the Government of Cyprus — not a central bank — served as the direct note-issuing authority, a arrangement reflecting the colonial administration's tight grip on monetary affairs. De La Rue's printing is characteristically fine for the period, but the real curiosity here is the issuer itself: formal central banking wouldn't arrive in Cyprus until 1963.
The six-year date range suggests notes were signed and dated individually upon issue rather than printed in discrete dated runs — worth examining closely on any example.