Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
50 Cents
| Issuer | Government of Newfoundland, Department of Public Works |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901-1908 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | American Bank Note Company, New York |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Black intaglio on white paper with ornate guilloche cornerpieces bearing large numeral 50. Central text panel carries the promise to pay, with the year in red at top centre. Two manuscript signatures at lower centre with a third below, all with printed title designations. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | NEWFOUNDLAND GOVERNMENT CASH NOTE ISSUED UNDER ACT 62 & 63 VIC. CAP. 6. Department Public Works. The Newfoundland Government will Pay the bearer FIFTY CENTS on presentation of this note at the Bank of Montreal, in St. Johns. Secretary Minister Public Works. Chairman Board of Commissioners. AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Newfoundland retained its own currency well into the twentieth century, issuing fractional notes through the Department of Public Works rather than through a conventional central bank — an arrangement that reflected the colony's ambiguous constitutional status as a self-governing dominion without full monetary infrastructure. These 50-cent notes circulated alongside both Canadian and Newfoundland coinage, filling a gap in small-denomination exchange that coin shortages periodically created.
The American Bank Note Company held the contract throughout the series run, a common arrangement for smaller British colonial issuers who lacked domestic security printing capacity. The undated span of 1901–1908 means individual notes rarely carry documentation precise enough to pin down issue year.