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5 Shillings
| Issuer | Government of Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939-1950 |
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| Currency | Pound (1879-1955) |
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| Obverse description | Central oval vignette bearing a portrait of King George VI in profile facing left, printed in purple intaglio, set against a guilloche underprint in blue and green. The heading ISSUED BY THE / GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS appears across the top in a blue banner, with the denomination 5/- in the upper corners. Serial number in red appears twice at left and right, with the date and Commissioner of Currency signature at the foot; trilingual denomination legends — in Greek (ΠΕΝΤΕ ΣΕΛΙΝΙΑ) to the left and Arabic script to the right — flank the central vignette. |
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| Protection description | Watermarked paper |
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| Comments |
Cyprus had no central bank until 1963, and for much of the colonial period the Currency Commissioner issued notes directly under Colonial Office authority. This 5 Shillings note — part of a series that ran through the final decade before Cypriot independence became a serious political question — was produced by Bradbury Wilkinson, the New Malden firm responsible for a substantial portion of British colonial currency output during this period.
The long issue window, 1939 to 1950, spans the Second World War, during which Cyprus served as a staging point for Allied operations in the Eastern Mediterranean. Notes from the early war dates tend to show heavier circulation wear than later printings.