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4 Shillings L. 1894, Government of the Cook Islands
| Issuer | Government of the Cook Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1894 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 4 Shillings (1/5) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Two crossed flags — the British Red Ensign and the Cook Islands flag — form a central vignette at the top of the note, above the main text panel. A circular medallion bearing the numeral '4' in blue is positioned at the upper right, while a red guilloche underprint with the denomination text 'FOUR SHILLINGS' spans the body of the note. The serial number appears at the upper left, with signature lines for 'Registered' and 'Receiver of Revenue' at the lower left and right respectively. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is essentially plain, with faint ink show-through from the obverse visible through the paper stock, including traces of the guilloche underprint and denomination lettering. |
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| Comments |
Cook Islands notes from this era occupy genuinely strange legal ground. Britain had declared a protectorate over the islands in 1888, yet the local government continued issuing its own currency through the 1890s — an arrangement that ended abruptly when New Zealand annexed the group in 1901 and swept away the indigenous fiscal apparatus entirely.
The denomination itself is an outlier. Four shillings is an awkward unit with no obvious precedent in standard British colonial currency practice, suggesting it was calibrated to local trade needs rather than imported wholesale from sterling convention. P#2 is among the rarest surviving Cook Islands issues; the tiny population and short window of valid circulation meant almost no reason existed to produce or retain large quantities.