Catalog
5 Shillings
| Issuer | Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1928 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS / PROMISES TO PAY TO BEARER ON DEMAND THE SUM OF / FIVE SHILLINGS / 5/- / FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS / DIRECTORS OF CURRENCY / THOMAS DE LA RUE AND COMPANY LIMITED |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The P#1 designation tells the whole story: this is the first banknote ever issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands. Prior to 1928, the islands had no indigenous paper currency — sterling coinage and Jamaican notes handled exchange, reflecting the territory's administrative subordination to Jamaica, which lasted until 1962. The decision to produce a local issue was bureaucratic rather than economic; the salt industry that had defined the islands' trade for two centuries was already in steep decline.
Thomas De La Rue's watermarked security paper was the colonial standard of the period, but the issue itself was tiny in scale and short-lived in practical relevance. Very few examples are known to have survived.