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Results for “cape colony monetary history”
South Africa 1828 Cape of Good Hope Bank five shillings pre issue sample note, engraved border and ships vignette, Smithsonian class institutional artifact

South Africa 1828 - Cape of Good Hope Bank 5 Shillings Pre-Issue Sample (Pick S171p)

The Cape of Good Hope Bank occupies a unique position in South African monetary history. While earlier banking activity existed under Dutch East India Company administration, including the state-controlled Lombard Bank established in 1793, the Cape of Good Hope Bank was the first true private commercial bank in southern Africa. Its eventual opening in 1837 marked a decisive transition from state-issued colonial notes toward privately organized banking and credit formation within the Cape economy. Read more →

South AfricaPre-Issue Sample1828Five Shillings SterlingUncirculated Pre Issue Sample5 Shillings SterlingSample NoteApproval Stage CurrencyCape of Good Hope BankPrivate Colonial BankingEarly Nineteenth Century CurrencyCape Colony Monetary HistoryBritish Colonial FinanceInstitutional ProvenanceSouth Africa1828Pick S171pR9 Extremely RareMuseum GradeSmithsonian Held Class
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South Africa 1861 Montagu Bank five pounds remainder, large format steel plate engraved private banknote with green counterfeit protector

South Africa 1861 - Montagu Bank 5 Pounds Remainder (Pick S231r)

This note is an unissued remainder of the Montagu Bank five pounds denomination, produced in the early 1860s during the brief operational life of one of the Cape Colony’s most distinctive private commercial banks. As the highest denomination authorized by the Montagu Bank, the five pounds issue occupied the uppermost tier of the institution’s monetary structure and was intended for large commercial settlements, capital transactions, and internal accounting rather than routine daily exchange.

Cape Colony Banking Colonial Monetary History
Mauritius 1842 Mauritius Commercial Bank 10 Dollars / 2 Pounds Sterling Issued & Cancelled

Mauritius 1842 - Mauritius Commercial Bank 10 Dollars / 2 Pounds Sterling Issued & Cancelled (Pick S122a)

The Port Louis harbor vignette - one of the earliest engraved Mauritian landscapes - encapsulates the colony's economic identity as a port of transshipment for sugar, textiles, rice, timber, and re-exported Indian goods. The docks, bonded warehouses, and anchored vessels evoke the commercial confidence the bank sought to project in an era when Mauritius was emerging from the post-abolition labor transition and integrating more tightly into imperial trade networks.

Colonial Banking History
Mauritius 1843 Mauritius Commercial Bank 10 Dollars / 2 Pounds Sterling Remainder, PMG 50 NET

Mauritius 1843 - Mauritius Commercial Bank 10 Dollars / 2 Pounds Sterling Remainder (Pick S122r)

This note represents the archival stock of the 1840s issue - printed but never signed or circulated. It carries the same engraving and layout as the fully issued 1842 Ten Dollars / Two Pounds Sterling notes, showing the Port Louis harbor with moored vessels, bonded warehouses, and the neoclassical bank building anchoring the composition. The vignette is among the earliest engraved landscapes used on any Mauritian banknote, reflecting the colony’s maritime identity and its economic dependence on shipping and re-export trade.

Colonial Banking History
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