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4 Pounds
| Issuer | Standard Bank of British South Africa Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Year | 18xx |
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| Reference(s) | P#S579 |
| Obverse description | Brown and cream note with a central text panel bearing the promise to pay inscription in copperplate script and bold letterpress. A vignette at left centre shows an allegorical female figure seated on a bale beside agricultural produce and a coastal landscape, with the words FOUR POUNDS in the side panel. The bank title THE STANDARD BANK OF BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA, LIMITED is set in bold across the upper portion, with a guilloche-bordered numeral 4 cartouche at upper right, and denomination counters reading FOUR in each corner. Signature lines for Accountant and Manager appear at the foot, with the imprint GREAT WINCHESTER STREET, LONDON, E.C. along the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | THE STANDARD BANK OF BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED FOUR POUNDS FOUR POUNDS FOUR POUNDS 4 SPECIMEN WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED, BANK NOTE ENGRAVERS GREAT WINCHESTER STREET, LONDON |
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| Comments |
The Standard Bank of British South Africa was incorporated in London in 1862 and operated branches across the Cape Colony, Natal, and eventually the Transvaal. A £4 denomination is an oddity — not a sum that appears in most colonial banking series, where £1, £5, and £10 were the workhorses. Its existence likely reflects a specific local commercial need, possibly tied to livestock pricing or land transaction conventions in the Cape interior, where £4 represented a round figure in certain commodity trades.
Waterlow & Sons produced the plate work. The "18xx" dating indicates unissued remainder stock, with year and serial fields left blank at press.