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5 Pounds Colonial Bank of Issue
| Issuer | Colonial Bank of Issue |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853 |
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| Value | 5 Pounds |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | COLONIAL BANK OF ISSUE FIVE PROMISE TO PAY FIVE POUNDS TO BEARER ON DEMAND FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF NEW ZEALAND FIVE POUNDS |
| Reverse description | Uniface note; no reverse design. |
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| Comments |
The Colonial Bank of Issue was a short-lived institution established in Victoria, Australia, in the early 1850s under the authority of the colonial government — a direct response to the explosive economic pressure created by the gold rushes at Ballarat and Bendigo. Melbourne's existing banking infrastructure was simply overwhelmed. The Colonial Bank of Issue was intended as a state-backed alternative, though it operated only briefly before private banking interests reasserted dominance and the colonial note-issuing function was wound down.
Surviving examples are genuinely scarce. The S247 prefix in Pick signals a private or semi-official issuer, and the 1853 date places this note squarely in the most chaotic period of early Victorian monetary life.