20 Pounds L. 1985

The 1985 Bank of Sudan 20 Pounds belongs to a series introduced as the country was sliding toward the economic collapse that followed the 1985 coup removing Nimeiry from power. Sudan's foreign exchange reserves were effectively exhausted by that point, and the pound faced severe inflationary pressure throughout the mid-1980s — larger denominations circulated hard and fast.

Thomas De La Rue retained the Sudan printing contract through multiple political transitions, a pragmatic continuity that had little to do with ideology and everything to do with available alternatives.