25 Cents

Cakobau's government was a short-lived colonial hybrid — a Fijian chieftain ruling under a constitutional monarchy framework, issuing currency before annexation by Britain in 1874 rendered the whole apparatus obsolete. These fractional notes were a practical response to a chronic shortage of small change in the islands, where Spanish and American silver coins circulated alongside whatever could be pressed into service.

P#9 is among the rarest of the Cakobau Rex issues. The government collapsed within two years of this series, and redemption was neither systematic nor complete. Most survivors are in institutional collections.