Catalog
50 Cents
| Issuer | Treasury of Liberia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1876 |
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| Currency | Dollar (1833-1906) |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette at upper centre shows a sailing ship on water beside a palm tree, framed by the republic's title in an arched legend. The denomination FIFTY CENTS appears in a solid panel at lower centre, with the obligation text written in a flowing script across the middle of the note. Vertical panel inscriptions reading FIFTY CENTS flank the design on both left and right margins, and the place of issue, Monrovia, is printed in the lower body of the text. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA RECEIVABLE FOR DUTIES ON DEMAND AT THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT THE TREASURER OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA WILL PAY TO BEARER FIFTY CENTS FIFTY CENTS |
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| Comments |
Liberia's 1876 fractional currency was issued by the national Treasury rather than a commercial bank — a reflection of how thin the formal banking infrastructure was at the time. The republic had no chartered bank of issue until the twentieth century, so the Treasury filled the gap directly, producing low-denomination notes to address a chronic shortage of small change that plagued everyday commerce in Monrovia and the coastal settlements.
Pick 11 is among the rarer pieces from this series. Few examples have surfaced in documented collections, and the precise printer has not been conclusively established in the literature.