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50 Pounds Emergency issue, Series A
| Issuer | Government of Gibraltar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Currency | Pound (1914-1971) |
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| Obverse description | Plain cream paper note of typeset letterpress design, entirely text-based with no vignette or pictorial element. The heading 'Gibraltar, 6th August, 1914.' appears at top centre, with the denomination '£50 (Cincuenta Libras.)' at upper left, followed by the legal tender declaration text in serif type. The Colonial Treasurer's manuscript signature appears at lower right, above the title 'Colonial Treasurer', with a note of issue authority printed in smaller type at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gibraltar, 6th August, 1914. £ 50 (Cincuenta Libras.) The Government of Gibraltar hereby declares this Note to be of the value of FIFTY POUNDS and to be legal tender for that amount, and undertakes to redeem the said note in sterling money for the full face value at a date to be fixed hereafter by His Excellency the Governor. Colonial Treasurer. N.B. - This note is issued under the provisions of Ordinance 10 of 1914, and is secured by the said Ordinance on the assets and general Revenue of the Colony. |
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| Comments |
Gibraltar's wartime emergency issues of 1914 were authorized under emergency powers almost immediately after the outbreak of hostilities, as the disruption to shipping and banking channels created an acute shortage of currency on the Rock. The British government's preoccupation with the European theater left colonial administrations to improvise locally, and Gibraltar was among the first Crown territories to respond with a paper issue rather than wait for London to act.
At the £50 denomination, actual circulation was always limited — this was a high-value instrument in a small garrison economy. Surviving examples are genuinely uncommon.