Catalog
5 Shillings
| Issuer | Government of the Falkland Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1908-1916 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Brown typographic text on a blue geometric guilloche underprint extending across the full printed surface, with the promise-to-pay legend set centrally within the underprint field. A prefix letter followed by a five-digit serial number appears alongside a printed date. The design is characteristically spare and letterpress in execution, consistent with early colonial government emergency currency issues. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, with the paper itself carrying an all-over geometric guilloche watermark pattern of interlocking angular motifs, visible across the entire surface when held to light. |
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| Comments |
P#A1A is among the earliest documented paper currency for the Falklands, issued by the colonial government rather than a commercial bank — an arrangement common to small British territories where local banking infrastructure simply didn't exist. De La Rue's involvement is unsurprising; they held a near-monopoly on British colonial note contracts during this period.
The watermark is the sole security feature, which reflects both the isolation of the islands and the extremely limited volume of notes in circulation at any given time. Counterfeiting was never a realistic threat in a community this small.