50 Pounds National Bank of New Zealand Limited

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.