Catalog
5 Shillings / 6 Francs
| Issuer | States of Guernsey |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in red, the reverse centres on the Guernsey coat of arms — three golden lions passant on a shield — enclosed within a circular legend band. The central cartouche is surrounded by elaborate symmetrical guilloche rosette panels forming a scalloped oval frame that fills the note. |
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| Signature(s) | Edmond J. Fieber and John Leale |
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| Comments |
Guernsey's bilingual denomination — 5 Shillings on the sterling side, 6 Francs on the French — reflects the island's genuinely dual monetary reality in 1914, not a design affectation. French currency circulated alongside sterling in the Channel Islands well into the twentieth century, and the franc equivalence was a practical necessity rather than a nostalgic gesture.
Perkins, Bacon printed the note at the outbreak of the First World War, when small change became acutely scarce across the British Isles. The States of Guernsey issued these notes as an emergency measure, part of a broader run of denominations authorized in August 1914. John Leale was Jurat at the time of issue; Edmond Fieber served as Comptroller.