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6 Pence German Occupation
| Issuer | States of Guernsey |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941-1943 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | STATES OF GUERNSEY PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND SIX PENCE VALUE RECEIVED BY AUTHORITY OF THE STATES |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in a uniform rose-pink guilloche underprint of small repeated rosette motifs covering the entire field. At centre, the arms of Guernsey — three leopards passant guardant — are displayed within a shield set inside an ornate cartouche composed of three interlocking oval lobes, surrounded by the circular Latin legend of the bailiwick seal. |
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| Comments |
Guernsey's German Occupation issues are among the few British-territory emergency notes produced under enemy administration during the Second World War. The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Crown to fall under German occupation, and the local authorities — not the Wehrmacht — managed currency affairs, issuing notes to address a chronic shortage of coin that worsened steadily after 1940. The 6 Pence denomination was practical necessity: small change had effectively vanished from circulation within months of the occupation beginning.
The States of Guernsey printed these locally, on whatever paper stock was available, which accounts for the variation in paper quality found across the series. Pick 22 spans the full 1941–1943 window, and examples from the later dates tend to show heavier wear — by then the notes were doing real work in a rationed, isolated economy with no prospect of resupply.