Catalog
5 Pounds Emergency issue, Series A
| Issuer | Government of Gibraltar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Plain cream paper note of austere wartime emergency design, printed in black letterpress throughout. The serial number appears in the upper left and upper right corners under the series prefix letter. The text body is arranged in a formal declaration style, with the denomination stated both in figures and words, culminating in the manuscript signature of the Colonial Treasurer in the lower right quadrant. A footnote in smaller type at the base references the issuing ordinance. |
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| Obverse lettering | Gibraltar, 6th August, 1914. £ 5 (Cinco Libras.) The Government of Gibraltar hereby declares this Note to be of the value of FIVE POUNDS and to be legal tender for that amount, and undertakes to redeem the said note in sterling money for the full face value at a date to be fixed hereafter by His Excellency the Governor. Colonial Treasurer. N.B. - This note is issued under the provisions of Ordinance 10 of 1914, and is secured by the said Ordinance on the assets and general Revenue of the Colony. |
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Gibraltar's 1914 emergency note issues were a direct consequence of the commercial disruption that followed the outbreak of the First World War. With normal banking operations thrown into disorder and coin disappearing from circulation almost immediately — hoarded by a population uncertain about what the war would bring — the Government of Gibraltar stepped in to issue paper currency under emergency authority.
Pick 4 is among the earliest government-issued paper money from Gibraltar, predating any established note-issuing tradition on the Rock. The series designation points to controlled issue batches, though surviving documentation on total print runs for Series A remains sparse.