Catalog
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!
| Issuer | Bahamas Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1965 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1966-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Brown intaglio print over yellow and pink guilloche underprint, with black serial numbers at upper left and lower right. A right-facing portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in regal bust appears at left, wearing the George IV State Diadem. The watermark zone occupies the right portion of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE CURRENCY NOTE ACT 1965 THE BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT THESE NOTES ARE LEGAL TENDER FOR THE PAYMENT OF ANY AMOUNT FIFTY DOLLARS Minister for Finance Commissioner of Currency $50 |
| 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 |
The 1965 Bahamas Government series was issued in anticipation of internal self-government, which arrived in January 1964 — meaning these notes were circulating under a constitutional arrangement that had already shifted authority significantly away from London even as the currency retained its colonial form. The 50-dollar denomination was the highest in the series, and at that value saw limited everyday use; most examples in existence today show minimal wear for that reason alone.
Thomas De La Rue's intaglio work on this series is among the cleaner examples of their mid-1960s colonial output. The watermark — a feature De La Rue deployed conservatively on high-denomination colonial issues of this period — remains one of the few security elements on a note that predates the more layered anti-counterfeiting approaches the Bahamas would adopt after full independence in 1973.