Catalog
5 Pounds
| Issuer | Government of Tonga |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942-1966 |
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| Printer | Thomas De La Rue & Company, London, United Kingdom |
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| Obverse description | Dark blue on yellow underprint. The Tongan Coat of Arms appears as a central vignette, flanked by palm tree motifs at left and right. Inscriptions identify the note as a Government of Tonga Treasury Note, with the legal tender clause and value expressed in sterling. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in dark blue on a pale ground, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate symmetrical guilloche composition filling the entire field, with interlocking rosettes, hexagonal medallions, and fine lathe-work engine-turned patterns radiating from a central ornament. Denomination indicators '£5' appear at upper left and lower right corners, with the word 'FIVE' at upper right and lower left. |
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| Comments |
The Government of Tonga series to which this note belongs predates the establishment of the National Reserve Bank by decades — Tonga operated direct government note issuance well into the postwar period, unusual for a Pacific territory with close British ties. Thomas De La Rue printed the series in London, as they did for dozens of colonial and protectorate governments simultaneously, meaning the physical quality is consistently high even in worn examples.
The 24-year issue window is the telling detail here. Notes dated across that span circulated on an island economy with limited banking infrastructure, and high-denomination paper in that environment tends to survive either very clean or very rough — little middle ground.