Description and research notes
This Treasury Bill specimen was issued by the Government of Barbados under the authority of the Treasury Bills (Local) Act of 1922 and represents a non-circulating reference instrument prepared for internal treasury, accounting, and archival use during the late twentieth century.
The bill is denominated at fifty thousand dollars, placing it among the highest-value Treasury Bills produced for Barbados. Instruments of this denomination were intended for large-scale fiscal operations and institutional treasury functions rather than routine financial transactions.
The design features an engraved multicolour security layout with an ornate guilloche border and a dense repeating underprint composed of the text “Government of Barbados” across the entire face. The denomination “$50,000” is printed prominently at lower left, with official signature titles for the Permanent Secretary, Finance, and the Accountant General appearing along the lower portion of the bill.
A bold diagonal red SPECIMEN overprint is applied across the face of the bill, clearly identifying it as a specimen retained outside any live issuance or settlement context. The serial number is E000000, consisting of a zero serial format with the prefix letter E, a configuration reserved for specimen material rather than issued Treasury Bills.
The bill sets out an obligation payable to order out of the Consolidated Fund at any commercial bank in Barbados or at the Treasury, reflecting the standardized legal wording used on Treasury Bills of this later period.
No punch-hole cancellation is present on this specimen. Invalidation is achieved solely through the red SPECIMEN overprint and zero serial configuration, distinguishing this example from other specimen formats that employ physical punch cancellation.
High-denomination Treasury Bill specimens of this type were retained within printer archives and government reference files. Surviving examples are exceptionally scarce and are typically encountered only as isolated specimens, representing some of the most elusive material within Barbados fiscal and security printing history.