Catalog
50 Cents Brown print
| Issuer | British North Borneo Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1895 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | The British North Borneo Company THE TREASURY, SANDAKAN. Promises to pay the Bearer on Demand the Sum of FIFTY CENTS Value received 半元 |
| Reverse description | Reverse is blank, with no printed design or lettering. |
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| Comments |
The British North Borneo Chartered Company retained full authority to issue currency under its 1881 royal charter — one of the last private companies in the British empire with that power. These fractional notes filled a genuine gap: coin shortages in the interior made small-denomination paper essential for paying estate and plantation workers across territory the Company was still actively administering rather than merely claiming.
The 1895 series, of which this is part, is among the earliest surviving paper issues from the territory. Attrition in the tropics was severe — humidity, insects, and rough handling in remote outposts account for why the Pick 2 is consistently difficult to locate in any condition above heavily circulated.