5 Pounds

Libya's National Bank was established only in 1955, three years after independence, and this 1958 issue belongs to the first full series it produced — a moment when the institution was still building the apparatus of a functioning central bank from scratch. The kingdom under Idris I was heavily dependent on British and American financial advisors, and the choice of Bradbury Wilkinson reflected that alignment: the New Malden firm had long supplied colonial and post-colonial issues across the British sphere.

Oil had not yet transformed the economy in 1958 — the Esso discovery at Zelten came the following year. These notes circulated in a country still running largely on foreign aid and base-rental payments.