5 Pounds Salop and North Wales Bank

The Salop and North Wales Bank was a provincial joint-stock bank based in Shrewsbury, one of dozens chartered following the 1826 Banking Act that finally broke the Bank of England's monopoly on joint-stock banking in England beyond a 65-mile radius of London. It failed in 1842 — just three years after this note was issued — triggering significant losses among local tradesmen and farmers who had accepted its paper at face value.

Surviving examples from this bank are rare simply because the issuer collapsed before most notes could circulate widely and be worn down. Bankruptcy liquidation typically meant paper was called in and destroyed, not preserved.