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5 Shillings - British Military Authority
| Issuer | British Military Authority |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942-1947 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central vignette bearing the denomination numerals, above which a crowned lion is positioned atop a royal crown at right, rendered in an engraved style. A guilloche underprint frames the central area, with the issuing authority's full title and denomination repeated in letterpress inscription encircling the design. The overall layout is spare and functional, consistent with wartime military issue notes. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 5/- ISSUED BY THE BRITISH MILITARY AUTHORITY FIVE SHILLINGS 5/- |
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| Comments |
The British Military Authority notes were produced in advance of Allied landings across multiple theatres — North Africa, Italy, and Northwestern Europe — as a deliberate instrument of economic control. Separating occupying forces from local currency prevented black-market pressure on civilian economies and gave military command authority over exchange rates from day one of any occupation.
De La Rue printed these under considerable wartime secrecy. The same basic format circulated across entirely different countries simultaneously, which still causes misattribution headaches when notes surface without documentation of where they were actually spent.