Catalog
5 Pounds - Elizabeth II
| Issuer | Bank of the Gold Coast |
|---|---|
| Year | 1953 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | £5 BANK OF THE GOLD COAST THIS NOTE IS ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GOLD COAST AND IS LEGAL TENDER OF THE GOLD COAST FOR THE PAYMENT OF ANY AMOUNT FIVE POUNDS FOR THE BANK OF THE GOLD COAST FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GOLD COAST MINISTER OF FINANCE MANAGING DIRECTOR FIVE 123456 |
| Reverse description | The central vignette presents a detailed intaglio view of a gold mine complex, with a prominent headframe (winding tower) rising at left and a series of industrial buildings and processing facilities extending across the middle ground, evoking the economic foundations of the Gold Coast colony. The £5 numeral is set in an ornate cartouche at upper left, while FIVE POUNDS appears in a decorative panel at the foot of the note. The entire composition is enclosed within a guilloche border consistent in style with the obverse. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of the Gold Coast had an exceptionally short operational life — the institution was established in 1953 and dissolved when Ghana achieved independence in 1957, at which point the Bank of Ghana took over. Notes issued under this authority were in circulation for at most four years, and this 5 Pound denomination would have represented a substantial sum in a colony where wage labour was still denominated in shillings. High-value notes circulate less, get hoarded more, and survive in better condition precisely because ordinary people rarely spent them casually.
Bradbury Wilkinson's New Malden facility handled a significant portion of British colonial currency printing through this period, and their intaglio work on Gold Coast issues is technically accomplished. The series was rendered obsolete when Ghana decimalized and introduced the Cedi in 1965.