Catalog
5 Pounds Sterling
| Issuer | Kaffrarian Colonial Bank, King William's Town |
|---|---|
| Year | 18xx |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#S221 |
| Obverse description | Finely engraved intaglio design centred on a standing allegorical female figure in classical dress, holding a trident and shield bearing the arms of British Kaffraria, set within an oval vignette inscribed CAPE OF GOOD HOPE and KING WILLIAMS TOWN. Denomination numeral 5 appears in ornate guilloche panels at upper left and upper right, with additional foliate scroll work flanking. The promise-to-pay text in copperplate script reads: 'We Promise to pay the Bearer on Demand, at our Office here, FIVE POUNDS Sterling, Value received,' with serial number and date fields for King William's Town below, and FIVE in bold letterpress within a decorative frame at lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse of cream-white cotton paper, showing only the ghost impression of the obverse intaglio printing visible as a mirror-image bleed-through, with the text KAFFRARIAN COLONIAL BANK and serial numerals faintly legible in reverse. |
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| Comments |
The Kaffrarian Colonial Bank operated out of King William's Town in the Cape Colony — a town that served as the British military headquarters for the eastern frontier campaigns against the Xhosa. Colonial banks of this period routinely had their notes printed in London and shipped out in sheets, with dates and serial numbers completed locally. The "18xx" year field indicates the printer supplied undated stock, leaving the issuing branch to complete details by hand at the point of issue.
William Brown of London is not among the better-documented security printers of the Victorian era, which makes attribution on these notes genuinely useful for researchers tracking the colonial print trade.