5 Pounds

The Bank of Sudan was established in 1960, taking over central banking functions from the Sudan Currency Board, and this De La Rue-printed series spans a politically turbulent decade — the 1969 coup brought Jaafar Nimeiry to power just before the earliest dated notes in this run. The shift between signature titles from Governor to Chairman of the Board of Directors and back reflects real institutional instability in how the bank's leadership was structured and named during those years.

The watermark change from rhinoceros to secretary bird between 1970 and 1971 is the quickest diagnostic for distinguishing early from later issues — more reliable than the signature check alone, since the 1971 and 1980 examples share the same bird watermark.