5 Pounds Emergency issue, Series A

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.