Description and research notes
Issued cheque from the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Cairo branch, dated 23 March 1921. Printed in a deep blue guilloche frame with an Art Nouveau–influenced border, the cheque represents the transitional print style used by NBE shortly before the establishment of Egypt’s central banking functions in the early 1920s.
The document is completed in manuscript for £E85 and validated by a red diagonal NOT NEGOTIABLE overprint, a violet PASSÉ 24 MARS 1921 settlement stamp, and dual signatures from the branch’s cashier and accountant. Printed by a London security printer—likely Waterlow & Sons—the cheque reflects the high-quality engraving that characterized official Egyptian financial documents during the monarchy’s interwar expansion period.
Early 1920s NBE cheques are scarce, as the bank later standardized forms and destroyed earlier stocks. This example, fully intact with all internal control marks, offers an excellent primary resource for understanding Egypt’s pre-central-bank financial environment and is a key artifact of Cairo’s post–World War I banking infrastructure.