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1923 Banco di Roma Cairo issued cheque with Capitoline Wolf emblem and engraved Roman header

Egypt 1923 - Banco di Roma, Cairo Branch Issued Cheque

The cheque is completed in multiple period inks. The handwritten date '17 Novembre 1923' appears at top, with payee information and the manuscript amount entered across the lower guilloche band designed to prevent alteration or erasure. A prominent red BANCO DI ROMA overprint identifies the Cairo branch and displays the bank’s fully paid capital in both lira and sterling. This bilingual capital declaration was typical of Banco di Roma's overseas branches, which catered to clients who settled payments in multiple currencies across the Mediterranean. At lower right, a violet PASSÉ clearing stamp dated 17 NOV. 1923 confirms same-day internal settlement. Pencil notations and endorsement initials along the left margin reflect the routine processing steps performed by bank clerks and receiving institutions. Read more →

EgyptFinancial Document1923Cheque (Egyptian Pounds)Uncertified (VF, Strong Impressions) Financial DocumentBanking DocumentIssued ChequeCheque HistorySecurity PrintingEngraved LetterheadItalian BankingBanco di RomaItalian Overseas ExpansionMediterranean FinanceEgyptian Banking HistoryInterwar FinanceForeign Exchange HistoryColonial Era BankingCorrespondent BankingCommercial History EgyptEgyptCairo1923Museum GradeR6 Extremely Rare
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1918 Banque Belge pour l’Étranger Cairo branch issued cheque with Art Nouveau border and full branch list

Egypt 1918 - Banque Belge pour l’Étranger, Cairo Branch Issued Cheque

Banque Belge pour l'Étranger played a discreet but significant role in Egypt’s wartime financial system. The bank provided sterling exchange, trade financing, documentary clearing, and short-term advances to commercial houses engaged in shipping, cotton brokerage, and military supply contracts. During World War I, Cairo functioned as a logistical and administrative hub for British forces in the Eastern Mediterranean, and foreign banks-Belgian, French, British, Italian, Greek-facilitated the movement of hard currency, letters of credit, and payment instructions across the region.

Anglo Belgian Finance
1922 to 1927 Anglo-Egyptian Bank Alexandria multicolor cheque set showing blue red and black engraved varieties

Egypt 1922–1927 - Anglo-Egyptian Bank, Alexandria Multicolor Cheque Set (Transition to Barclays DCO)

All four cheques share the large engraved left-side vignette featuring an obelisk, palm trees, a sphinx, and a pedestal listing the bank’s far-reaching branches across the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Africa. Beneath the vignette, the printer's line 'Société des Publications Égyptiennes, Alexandria' is visible on several examples. The cheques are numbered by hand at the upper left and completed in slanted fountain-pen script typical of the 1920s, with amounts stated both numerically and in longhand French.

Interwar Finance
1921 National Bank of Egypt Cairo issued cheque with blue guilloche frame and settlement stamps

Egypt 1921 - National Bank of Egypt, Cairo Branch Issued Cheque

The cheque is completed in dark fountain-pen ink for the amount of eighty-five Egyptian pounds, written in both numeric form and longhand across the center. The handwriting reflects period commercial script-slanted cursive with looped capitals and steady line pressure-typical of trained bank clerks in the British-influenced financial offices of Cairo. The date '23rd March 1921' is entered in matching ink at upper right. Across the center, a firm red NOT NEGOTIABLE overprint spans the entire instrument, applied heavily enough to leave a slight embossing into the paper fibers, ensuring the cheque could only be cleared internally and not endorsed to a third party.

Sterling Zone Finance
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