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4 Shillings - 'Pound Sterling'
| Issuer | Government of Tonga |
|---|---|
| Year | 1931-1936 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 4 Shillings (1/5) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | FOUR GOVERNMENT OF TONGA TREASURY NOTE THE GOVERNMENT OF TONGA PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER FOUR SHILLINGS STERLING ON DEMAND AT THE TREASURY NUKUALOFA 8th July, 1935. COMMISSIONERS OF AMOUNT FOUR |
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| Reverse lettering | 4/s FOUR FOUR 4/s |
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| Comments |
Tonga's first government-issued banknotes appeared in 1921 under Queen Salote Tupou III, and this 4 Shilling denomination — an unusual face value by any standard — reflects the practical arithmetic of a country where the traditional tax unit, the tokelau, mapped awkwardly onto sterling subdivisions. Four shillings was precisely one-fifth of a pound, which made it useful for tax collection and wage payments in a small, largely subsistence economy with limited coin supply.
De La Rue's involvement from the outset placed these notes among the better-produced colonial issues of the Pacific. The series ran through 1936, the year of Salote's consolidation of royal authority over church and state finances.