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 Pounds National Bank of New Zealand Limited
| Issuer | National Bank of New Zealand Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1873-1877 |
| 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 | Perkins, Bacon & Petch (Perkins, Bacon and Co.), United Kingdom (1820-1935) |
| 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 | The upper portion bears the bank title 'THE NATIONAL BANK OF NEW ZEALAND LIMITED' in an arched legend, flanked by denomination cartouches reading '£50' at the upper left and right corners, with the Royal Arms and supporters as a central vignette beneath a crown. The note body carries an ornate guilloche border with interlaced floral rosettes along the vertical margins, circular monogram medallions inscribed 'NB' on each side, and a bold promise-to-pay panel in the centre reading 'WE PROMISE to pay THE BEARER on Demand FIFTY POUNDS Sterling'. The lower portion includes manuscript branch designation, a 'FIFTY' panel, and a handwritten date and Manager signature line, with the printer's imprint 'Perkins Bacon & Co London' at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE NATIONAL BANK OF NEW ZEALAND LIMITED £50 WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND FIFTY POUNDS STERLING FOR THE NATIONAL BANK OF NEW ZEALAND LIMITED FIFTY MANAGER |
| 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 National Bank of New Zealand Limited was incorporated in London in 1872 with English capital specifically to compete with the established Bank of New Zealand, and began issuing notes almost immediately after opening its New Zealand branches. Perkins, Bacon & Petch had by this period accumulated decades of experience printing colonial currency and postage stamps across the British Empire, their intaglio work being well-regarded for resistance to forgery at a time when fraudulent notes were a genuine operational concern for newly established colonial banks.
At fifty pounds, this was a high-denomination instrument used almost exclusively for interbank settlement and large commercial transactions — ordinary retail circulation was simply not part of its function. Surviving examples from this window are exceptionally rare.