50 Dollars

British Honduras issued its first formal currency series under colonial authority beginning in 1894, when the Government — rather than a chartered bank — took direct control of note production. That arrangement was unusual for the region at the time; most Caribbean and Central American territories still relied on private banking concessions. De La Rue's involvement brought high-quality intaglio printing to the series, but the $50 denomination would have circulated in an economy where mahogany export and chicle trade were the primary drivers of any commerce requiring notes of that value.

Surviving examples from this first issue are rare by any measure. The 1894 series had a short effective life before subsequent issues superseded it, and high-denomination notes in colonial economies often saw limited initial distribution.