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 for internal reference, accounting control, and archival retention rather than circulation or fiscal settlement.
The document carries a printed denomination of five hundred thousand dollars and defines an obligation payable out of the Consolidated Fund at any commercial bank in Barbados or at the Treasury. The place of issue is identified as Bridgetown, confirming its role within the central administrative framework of the Barbadian state.
This specimen displays the alphanumeric prefix G followed by a six-digit zero serial format (G000000), identifying it as specimen material retained outside live issuance ranges and documenting an internal reference configuration within the Treasury Bill production process.
Unlike other specimen formats within the Barbados Treasury Bill series, this example does not bear punch-hole cancellation, perforated cancellation text, or specimen overprint. The absence of physical cancellation or overprint distinguishes this piece as a plain internal specimen state.
Along the upper margin of the note appears a group of printed administrative annotations applied at the production or accounting stage. These include an internal reference code reading 74/7515, a printed quantity notation QTY. 1,000, and a printed serial range reference G0501–G1500. These elements form a single printed control line positioned entirely within the top margin area and document batch allocation and numbering control rather than issuance serials.
Separately from the printed top-margin control line, handwritten administrative annotations are present in the upper right portion of the note. These handwritten markings include an internal batch reference and a handwritten date reading 7.5.76. Their placement and character indicate later treasury or printer-side handling distinct from the original printed control annotations.
The design is executed on a dense multicolour security underprint composed of repeated Government of Barbados text, serving issuer identification and anti-counterfeiting purposes. An engraved guilloche border encloses the layout, reflecting established British fiscal security printing practices of the period.
This example is preserved in a Paper Money Guaranty holder and graded 62 Uncirculated. Specimen Treasury Bills of this denomination and configuration are extremely rare, and examples combining a plain specimen format, zero serial prefix G, printed batch control annotations, and later handwritten handling notes represent a distinct and seldom-encountered variant within Barbados fiscal material.