1 Palestine Pound

The Palestine Currency Board was established by British mandate in 1927 specifically to issue a currency tied at par to sterling — a deliberate colonial mechanism that locked Palestinian economic policy to London. The Board had no central banking functions whatsoever; it simply held sterling reserves and issued notes against them, one for one. There was no lender of last resort, no monetary flexibility.

This series ran across a troubled span of years, from the Arab Revolt of the late 1930s through the Second World War, and notes absorbed heavy circulation accordingly. De La Rue's engraved printing held up well under the conditions, but worn examples from the early 1940s are common. The 1927-dated notes are considerably scarcer than later issues.