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5 Pounds
| Issuer | Government of St. Helena |
|---|---|
| Year | 1998 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Pounds |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | At right, an intaglio portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in three-quarter view, wearing a tiara, pearl necklace, and formal attire, set against a fine guilloche underprint. The left side carries a panoramic landscape vignette of Saint Helena's rugged coastline and mountainous terrain with Jamestown in the valley below, flanked by a guilloche medallion enclosing the £5 numeral at lower left. Four manuscript signatures of the Currency Commissioners appear beneath the central vignette, with the promise text 'Promise to pay bearer on demand the sum of FIVE POUNDS' rendered in italic script. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | Queen Elizabeth II portrait watermark visible when held to light |
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| Comments |
St. Helena's 1998 note issue came after decades of the island using pound sterling notes issued by the St. Helena Government — a currency arrangement reflecting its status as a British Overseas Territory with no central bank of its own. Thomas De La Rue has printed St. Helena's notes through virtually every series, making this a long-standing exclusive relationship that shows no signs of changing.
The P#11 designation places it within the island's third distinct series. For a population that has never exceeded 5,000, the practical circulation volumes were tiny — and most notes that left the island did so in collectors' hands rather than traders'.