Description and research notes
Specimen Treasury Bill issued by the Government of Barbados under the authority of the Treasury Bills (Local) Act of 1922, prepared as a non-circulating reference instrument for internal administrative and archival use.
The bill is denominated at one thousand dollars and sets out an obligation payable to bearer out of the General Revenue and Assets of Barbados, reflecting the earlier legal wording also observed on the photographic proof and preceding later standardized Treasury Bill formulations. The place of issue, Bridgetown, is included within the printed layout, confirming its issuance within the central administrative framework of Barbados.
At the top margin of the note appears a printed line consisting of serial and prefix trial elements, including the sequences “B0001”, “1234”, and “B0400”. This printed line represents a numbering and font alignment trial associated with prefix and serial configuration, and is distinct from handwritten archival markings.
The primary prefix displayed on the bill itself is the letter “B”, followed by a four-digit zero serial format (B0000). This configuration distinguishes the note from specimen variants without prefixes or with different serial structures, and documents a specific reference format within the Treasury Bill production process.
Cancellation is effected by two large punch holes applied in the lower right portion of the note, positioned through the signature area. These punch holes serve as a physical method of invalidation, permanently preventing any use of the document for circulation or financial settlement.
Additional handwritten archival annotations are present on the face of the note, including a handwritten reference number and a clearly legible date reading “2/5/60”, corresponding to 5 February 1960. These annotations document an internal handling or approval event and provide a firm chronological anchor for this specimen.
The background is formed by a dense multicolor security underprint composed of repeated “Government of Barbados” text, serving both issuer identification and anti-counterfeiting purposes. The design is enclosed within an engraved guilloche border consistent with British fiscal security printing practices of the mid-twentieth century.
Specimen Treasury Bills of this denomination were produced in limited quantities for government files and printer archives. Surviving examples combining printed numbering trials, prefix-based serial format, punch cancellation, and dated handwritten annotations represent a distinct and rarely encountered configuration within Barbados fiscal material.