10 Shillings - George V

Jamaica's wartime currency emergency of 1918 stemmed directly from the disruption of coin shipments from Britain — the same shortage that forced emergency paper issues across several Crown colonies simultaneously. The Government of Jamaica stepped in as direct issuer rather than routing the note through the Colonial Bank or any commercial institution, an arrangement that reflects the administrative urgency of the moment rather than any lasting policy preference.

Waterlow & Sons printed the series, as they did for a substantial portion of British colonial emergency issues during the First World War period. Pick 33 is among the scarcer survivors from this Jamaica government series — the 10 Shilling denomination saw heavy use and relatively few notes were set aside before redemption.