Description and research notes
This item consists of a matched pair of archival photographic prints documenting the front and back designs of an unissued 100 Dollars banknote for Barbados, dated 1943 and produced under British colonial administration. The photographs record a complete banknote design that did not proceed to production or circulation and survive as internal visual documentation rather than monetary instruments.
The front design carries the formal issuer heading Government of Barbados and presents a complete engraved layout including denomination panels, ornamental framing, and portraiture of King George the Sixth. This design corresponds to the issued 1943 100 Dollars banknote cataloged as Pick 6; however, the photographic proof itself is not an issued note and is not assigned a Pick catalog number.
The reverse design consists of an elaborate geometric guilloche composition centered on a blank cartouche, flanked by denomination panels. The emphasis is placed on symmetry, line density, and ornamental balance, consistent with British security printing practices of the early 1940s.
These photographs were produced as part of internal design and approval workflows, serving as durable reference records for engraving detail, typographic placement, and overall layout. During the Second World War, proposed high-denomination issues across the British West Indies were frequently postponed or abandoned due to material constraints, security considerations, and shifting fiscal priorities. Archival photographic records preserved approved or provisional designs without committing to engraving plates or printed issues.
Paper Money Guaranty identifies this item as a Design of Pick 6, reflecting its direct relationship to the issued banknote while confirming that the photographic proof itself is not a listed Pick type. The photographs are not legal tender and were never intended for circulation. They bear no signatures, serial numbers, or security features associated with issued notes.
This matched front and back pair is preserved in Paper Money Guaranty holders and graded 65 Gem Uncirculated. Archival photographic proofs of unissued Barbados banknote designs are exceptionally rare, and matched pairs constitute primary-source material of the highest research value for the study of Caribbean numismatics, British colonial administration, and wartime security printing.