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5 Pounds
| Issuer | Cape of Good Hope Bank Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1889 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a large oval intaglio vignette on the left, within which a classical female allegorical figure stands beside a ship's wheel against a maritime background. The bank title CAPE OF GOOD HOPE BANK LIMITED and the branch designation POTCHEFSTROOM appear in bold letterpress across the upper centre, with the denomination FIVE POUNDS stated in a cursive promise-to-pay text at centre reading 'Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at our Office here the Sum of FIVE POUNDS, value received.' Corner numeral cartouches bearing '5' and '£5' appear at each corner, and the note carries a manuscript date of 29 March 1889, serial number, and manuscript signatures below the promise text. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CAPE OF GOOD HOPE BANK LIMITED POTCHEFSTROOM POTCHEFSTROOM ISSUE.-N.S. Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at our Office here the Sum of FIVE POUNDS, value received. POTCHEFSTROOM FIVE £5 5 By Order of the Board of Directors For the Trustees |
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The Cape of Good Hope Bank Limited was one of several commercial banks operating in the Cape Colony under the loose oversight of the colonial government — not a central issuing authority. These private bank notes circulated alongside notes from the Standard Bank, the Oriental Bank, and others, with no single institution holding a monopoly on paper currency in the colony before Union in 1910.
By 1889 the Cape's wool and diamond trade was generating enough commercial volume to sustain high-denomination notes in day-to-day mercantile use. The S179 designation reflects its relative scarcity in surviving collections — Cape colonial private bank paper was rarely preserved, most examples having been redeemed or destroyed as the issuing banks consolidated or collapsed in the late nineteenth century.