1 Pound

W.W. Sprague & Co. produced fine commercial banknote work for numerous colonial institutions in the late nineteenth century, and this Durban-branch issue is among their earlier South African commissions. The note predates the formation of the Union of South Africa by over two decades, issued at a time when the Standard Bank operated through distinct regional branches, each with its own headed notes — Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, and others all issued separately.

Branch-specific pounds from this period are considerably scarcer than the later unified issues, as individual branch circulation pools were small and redemption rates high.