Catalog
5 Shillings
| Issuer | Fiji Banking and Commercial Company, Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1873-1876 |
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| Value | 5 Shillings |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | FIJI BANKING AND COMMERCIAL COMPANY, LIMITED FIVE SHILLINGS FIVE SHILLINGS STERLING LEVUKA On Demand We Promise to Pay to the Bearer FIVE SHILLINGS Sterling CASSIER FIJI BANKING AND COMMERCIAL COMPANY, LIMITED Manager |
| Reverse description | Letterpress-printed in dark brown on plain paper, the reverse presents a central three-line text block in the Fijian language constituting the vernacular value statement, enclosed within an ornate scrollwork and floral vine border. |
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| Comments |
The Fiji Banking and Commercial Company was a short-lived private institution operating in the islands just as the colonial order was being formalized — Britain annexed Fiji in 1874, and the regulatory ground shifted beneath every commercial enterprise in the territory almost immediately. Whether this note predates or postdates cession is worth establishing before purchase, as examples from 1873–74 and those from 1875–76 carry meaningfully different political contexts.
Private banknote issuance in Fiji effectively ended with colonial consolidation. Survivors from this issuer are genuinely rare, and the Pick numbering sits in a section of the catalog that remains poorly documented.