100 Pounds

The National Bank of Egypt was itself only founded in 1898 — a British-backed institution established under Egyptian state charter, with the concession granted to a consortium including Ernest Cassel. These early high-denomination notes were instruments of commercial banking as much as currency, used primarily for large mercantile settlements and interbank transfers rather than everyday exchange. A 100-pound note would have represented a sum far beyond ordinary reach in Egypt at the turn of the century.

Bradbury Wilkinson's intaglio work for this series was considered among the finest produced for a non-European issuer of the period. The plates required significant lead time before the bank even opened its doors.