Catalog
5 Pounds Otago Banking Company
| Issuer | Otago Banking Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1851 |
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| Currency | Pound (1840-1967) |
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| Obverse description | Uniface note printed in black on cream paper. At upper centre, the Scottish heraldic arms appear within a vignette flanked by the legends BANK OF and OTAGO. To the left, a large decorative panel contains the vertical inscription FIVE POUNDS in bold letterpress. The issuer's name, THE OTAGO BANKING COMPANY, is set in elaborate copperplate script across the centre, with two oval counters inscribed FIVE at left and right, and a promise-to-pay text running between them. Below, the denomination FIVE POUNDS STERLING is stated in large type, with the place of issue DUNEDIN, a partial date, and a signature panel reserved for the Chairman and Manager. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | FIVE POUNDS BANK OF OTAGO THE OTAGO BANKING COMPANY FIVE FIVE WE PROMISE TO PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND FIVE POUNDS STERLING AT THEIR OFFICE HERE DUNEDIN BY ORDER OF THE DIRECTORS |
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| Comments |
The Otago Banking Company had a remarkably short institutional life. Founded in Dunedin in 1848 to service the fledgling Scottish Presbyterian settlement, it was absorbed by the Union Bank of Australia by 1874 — but its real difficulties came earlier, as competition from better-capitalized Australian banks squeezed provincial New Zealand issuers throughout the 1850s. Notes of this vintage predate the influx of gold rush money that transformed Otago's economy after 1861, placing this firmly in the lean founding period.
Provincial banknote issues from pre-gold Otago are exceptionally rare survivors. Most were redeemed, cancelled, or simply destroyed as successor banks cleared their obligations.