Catalog
5 Pounds
| Issuer | Sudan Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1955 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of a Nile dhow under full sail with figures on board, set against a riverbank lined with palm trees, printed in deep rose-red on a matching guilloche underprint. Arabic legends appear across the upper portion of the note, with the denomination in Arabic numerals at the lower corners and serial number printed twice in black. Two manuscript signature fields appear at the lower centre, with the date in Arabic script at lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central vignette of a turbaned camel rider mounted at right, rendered in intaglio against a plain desert ground. A large blank watermark oval occupies the left portion, framed by an intricate guilloche border. The English inscription SUDAN GOVERNMENT runs across the top, with FIVE SUDANESE POUNDS in large serifed lettering across the lower portion, and the numeral 5 repeated in corner medallions. |
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| Comments |
Sudan Government notes from this period occupy an odd transitional space: issued after the 1953 Anglo-Egyptian Agreement set the country on course for independence, but before the formal declaration of January 1956. The currency authority was essentially a caretaker arrangement, with the Sudan Currency Board managing issuance through the handover period. Waterlow & Sons produced the series in London, as they had for numerous colonial and near-colonial administrations across Africa and the Middle East.
The 5 Pounds was the highest denomination in the series — a significant sum in daily Sudanese commerce — meaning these circulated infrequently and often returned to bank vaults quickly, which cuts both ways on survival rates.