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...Guernsey - ND2023 Issues Of Three Notes - Reprints With Added Security Features s. Bethan Haines

Bailiwick of Guernsey

(Bailliage de Guernesi / Bailliage de Guernesey)

(Guernsey, Alderney & Sark)

States of Guernsey, Treasury and Resources Department

Currency - Pound (GGP)

Below are the three latest banknotes issued by the Treasury of Guernsey. These notes were reportedly released on 19.01.2023. The main designs on all the three notes are the same as those previously released in circulation, but with improved security features added.

It should be noted that this is the first time a £5 note has been printed with the signature of Bethan Haines, since she took office as the Chief Accountant/States Treasurer of Guernsey in 2009. The remaining denomination that is still missing her signature is the £50, and even the last Treasurer, Dave Michael Clark (tenure 2002-2009) did not have one issued for the £50 with his signature on it.

As these three notes are printed with new and improved security features, these new features incorporated into the new notes are the PUREIMAGETM for the £5, IGNITETM for the £10; and NEXUSTM for the £20.

PUREIMAGETM (£5) - This is the next generation of holographic threads, with novel movement and pulsing effects, not usually associated with hologram features. The designs can be customised for instance incorporating characters or numbers into the effects, making this an incredibly versatile thread. The note has a new holographic design, making the three leopards on the coat of arms and the £5 symbol to switch from dark to light when it is tilted in any direction.

IGNITETM (£10) - This is a combination security thread with custom design, a strong blue/green colourshift and a pulsing pattern which shows a dynamic effect when the note is titled in any direction.

NEXUSTM (£20) - This technology was first launched in 2020, and is the latest security feature, usually for mid to high denomination banknotes. This is a security stripe that is embedded with 3D movement within the petals of the flower. The width for this stripe is 18mm, and is available in three colours. I believe that this security feature was first printed on the Qatar 5th 2020 Series of banknotes (500 riyals).

Obviously, in my opinion, the main purpose for these new securities added to the notes is to make them harder for counterfeiters, if there were any.

As mentioned above, all notes posted here bear the signature of Bethan Haines. Bethan Haines was officially appointed by the States Treasury on 13.01.2008, following the announcement of resignation by Dave Michael Clark (tenure 2002-2009).

Bethan Haines started with the position as Chief Accountant, and the Treasury released a £20 banknote nd2009 with her signature on it. Her title was then changed, and in 2013, the Treasury released a £1 commemorative note (200th Year of De La Rue Commercial Venture nd2013) bearing her title as States Treasurer. I am not sure if the title for Chief Accountant and States Treasurer are the same, as prior to her joining the Treasury, all banknotes signed have the title of States Treasurer.

As per all previous issues, the main feature on the front on all three notes depicts the portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth the Second (b.1926-2022). The current series of Guernsey banknotes were first introduced in 1994. The designs for this series are almost 30 years old, and one can only assume that any new issues with new design may incorporate the portrait of the current British monarch, King Charles lll, assuming that the Treasury will continue this tradition since 1994. It should be noted that Guernsey have a rather small population of just under 64,000 people, and depletion of banknotes in stock may take some time, especially I understand that banknotes issued by Bank of England, those from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jersey, and Isle of Man are all legal tender on the island at par value too.

The serial numbers for this 2023 series commencing from: £5 - D 600001; £10 - G 680001; and £20 - E 650001.

Unfortunately, I have no details as to how many pieces have been printed for each denomination. I would expect more are printed for the lower denominations like the £5 and £10, but I have a feeling that the £20 is also a popular denomination circulating on the islands too. If only I had the answer here!

Five Pounds

Queen Elizabeth the Second (b.1926-2022)

Front - Queen Elizabeth the Second, Town Church (built 8th century) at St Peter Port at bottom left, boat at top left corner.

Signature - Bethan Haines

Watermark - Queen Elizabeth the Second

Imprinter - De La Rue (established 1821)

Dimensions - 136mm x 70.5mm

Back - Fort Grey at upper left, Hanois Lighthouse 1862 at right, flower and a shining sun, and boat at top right corner.

Fort Grey, Hanois Lighthouse 1862

Ten Pounds

Queen Elizabeth the Second (b.1926-2022)

Front - Queen Elizabeth the Second, Elizabeth College (founded in 1563) at St Peter Port, sail boat.

Signature - Bethan Haines

Watermark - Queen Elizabeth the Second

Imprinter - De La Rue (established 1821)

Dimensions - 143mm x 75.5mm

Back - Saumarez Park (created in the 19th century) at top, Les Niaux watermill (since the mid 1300s) at left, Le Trepred Dolmen at right, sail ship at top right corner, and flower at bottom right.

Saumarez Park, Les Niaux watermill, Le Trepred Dolmen

Twenty Pounds

Queen Elizabeth the Second (b.1926-2022)

Front - Queen Elizabeth the Second, St James Concert Hall at lower left, flower, a ferry ship at top left corner.

Signature - Bethan Haines

Watermark - Queen Elizabeth the Second

Imprinter - De La Rue (established 1821)

Dimensions - 150mm x 80.5mm

Back - St Sampson's church (built in 1111) at left, Vale castle (circa 1061) at top right, two sailing boats in the center, and a ferry ship at the top right corner.

St Sampson's church, Vale castle, two sailing boats

...Guernsey - One Pound Banknotes with S/Ns Y999999 & Y1000000 (Single Prefix) and AA (Double Letter Prefix) 2021

Bailiwick of Guernsey

(Bailliage de Guernesi / Bailliage de Guernesey)

(Guernsey, Alderney & Sark)

States of Guernsey, Treasury and Resources Department

Currency - Pound (GGP)

Collecting banknotes is fun but can be very expensive too. However, when you manage to get some notes with unique serial numbers, it just makes all of your efforts worthwhile. Here is a very good example of what I called a brilliant find and all I did was to ask and the seller told me what they got in stock. Below I have posted the notes of £1 with the signature of the Guernsey Treasurer Ms Bethan Haines, and with very unique serial numbers too.

The notes that I have posted here are normal banknotes but with the change over prefix from the last print of the single letter prefix of Y to a new double letter prefix of AA. In addition to this, I also managed to get the last note for the prefix Y with the serial number of Y1000000. This is one and the only one millionth numbered note in every letter prefix printed, and is also the last note for the single letter prefix series. I am also lucky to get the second last note with solid 9s - Y999999 too. Prefix Z should not be considered as the last or normal prefix as it is reserved for replacement notes only.

These notes posted here all bear the signature of Ms Bethan Haines, who is the current States Treasurer of Guernsey. I believe Ms Haines is originally from Wales, and has been in this position since 2008 (appointed). The first banknote bearing her signature was the 2009 £20. Since then, her signature has been printed on the £1, £10 and £20 for those normal and commemorative issues as well.

This current £1 series started in 1980 with the first signature of Winston Churchill John Bull (tenure 1980-1990). Since then reprints have been issued with the signatures of Michael John Brown (x 2; tenure 1990-1996), David Peter Trestain (tenure 1996-2002), Dave Michael Clark (tenure 2002-2009) and now with Bethan Haines. During the tenure of M.J. Brown, the size of the note was reduced from 135mm x 67mm to 128mm x 65mm and both notes were issued with his signature on it.

According to the Guernsey Press report in 2008, Ms Haines said that her mother initially was not very impressed when she told her that she had been appointed as the States Treasurer of Guernsey. However, she quickly changed her mind when Ms Haines told her mother that her signature will be appearing on the banknotes issued going forward. As the States Treasurer, one of the main tasks for Ms Haines is to manage the government spending and the States budget. This is just like a Cabinet post of a Minister of Finance or Treasurer position, except that her role was appointed and not elected via a democratic parliamentary system.

The design for this £1 note is still the same as it was first introduced since 1980. It is surprising that the design of this note is now 40 years old and there is no indication that the Treasury will be upgrading this note in the near future, despite a commemorative note of £1 was issued in 2013. Perhaps currency counterfeiting is very rare in Guernsey and also as Guernsey has a rather small population of just under 68,000 people and banknotes printed for each denomination may not have printed in full for each prefix, especially for those larger notes value. Imagine that this series started with prefix A in 1980 and it took them 40 years to use up from A to Y. I have a feeling that the reprint for the £1 may have only printed one million pieces at a time or 1.5M pieces or perhaps less.

The first prefix of this £1 note with Ms Haines's signature was issued in 2015/2016 with the letter X prefix. It is not sure when the Y prefix notes were introduced, however, the AA prefix notes were released in 2021. My guess for the Y prefix note may have been released in 2018/2019.

The Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound. The Guernsey one pound note was first introduced in 1827, issued by two commercial banks, namely - Guernsey Banking Company and the Guernsey Commercial Banking Company. In 1914, the government withdrew the bank's right to issue currency on the islands. In 1921, all banknotes issued were over-stamped with the word British to signify the island conversion to a pound equal to the British pound sterling. It is believed that as they are at par with the British pound, like those banknotes issued in Gibraltar, Jersey, Falkland Islands and St Helena, the Guernsey pounds are legal tender in Great Britain too, and can be exchanged at any commercial banks in the UK at face value. However, shops in the UK may hesitate to accept them as payments, due to simply ignorance on their part or not familiar with the currency value or designs. Also, unlike those banknotes issued in the United Kingdom, the Guernsey banknotes are not printed with the word 'Sterling' on it.

The designs;

Front - Coat of Arms of Guernsey with three lions, scene of a 19th century open market place with buildings in the background;

Back - The Royal Court at St Peter Port 1840, the portrait of Daniel de Lisle Brock (b.1762-1842) - the Bailiff of Guernsey (tenure 1821-1842).

Signature

States Treasurer - Ms Bethan Haines (appointed since 2008-)

Dimensions - 128mm x 65mm

One Pound (single letter prefix last prints)

Market scene of 1822, s/n Y 999999 solid no

Daniel de Lisle Brock, Royal Court

Market scene of 1822, Y 1000000 (millionth # note)

Daniel de Lisle Brock, Royal Court

The above two notes with serial numbers of Y999999 (solid 9s) and Y1000000 (Millionth no. note) are the last two of the single letter prefix series. As prefix Z is reserved for replacement, this series took 40 years to complete a full cycle from A to Y.

Prefix Y - 999118-119; 999999-1000000

I must say that from the naked eye, the font for the serial numbers on the solid and millionth numbered notes looked a bit different from the others. For a start, it does look like it has been printed with not the same quality as those other notes printed with the same letter prefix. If you have a quick glance at it, you would say that they are printed with different sizes or fonts. The numbers look broader on the solid/millionth numbered notes, compared to the other one that I have.

One Pound (double letter prefix first print)

nd2021, Market scene of 1822, double letter AA prefix

Daniel de Lisle Brock, Royal Court

Footnote;

The remaining two notes that Ms Bethan Haines yet to sign on are the £5 and £50 notes. The last time the £5 note reprinted was issued with the signature of Dave Michael Clark (tenure 2002-2009) and the £50 was David Peter Trestain (tenure 1996-2002). Given that those banknotes issued in the United Kingdom have all been converted to polymer materials, and going forward, if new designs of banknotes are needed, I wonder if the Treasury would also consider converting the current paper banknotes to polymer as well.

...Guernsey - £20 End of the First World War 100th Year Anniversary 1918-2018

Bailiwick of Guernsey

This is a Commemorative note released on 08/11/2018, commemorating 100 Years of the End of the First World War 1918 - 2018.

The first world war started on 28/07/1914, 31 days following the assassination of the crown prince of Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (b 18/12/1863) and his wife Sophie (b 01/03/1868) in Sarajevo by Gavrillo Princip during their official visit on 28/06/1914. War was declared against the Kingdom of Serbia (1882-1918) by the Austrian-Hungary empire after it received assurance from Germany's support. The war then went on for 4 years, 3 months and 2 weeks and ended at 11.00 am on 11/11/1918.

The design of this note is basically the same as those previously issued since 1996 but with additional text/features added to the design. Below are some of these features;

1) Commemorative text: The Great War 1914-1918; 100 Years Commemoration;
2) A police panic whistle with string is added to the design just under the commemorative text;
3) The security hologram has been replaced by an image of a silver poppy;
4) Leaf wreath surrounding the gold seal of Guernsey has been replaced by at least 29 poppies;
5) Special prefix TG/W (The Great War);
6) The signature title has been reverted back to States Treasurer. Previously it was Chief Accountant;
7) On the reverse, the flowers on the lower left hand corner have been replaced by two large poppies;
8) The words, "St. Sampson's Church" is printed in black/dark brown instead of red.

The note is signed by Bethan Haines, who has been signing on Guernsey banknotes since 2009. A total of 500,000 pieces printed for this special commemorative. This note posted here comes from the first bundle.

Watermark: Queen Elizabeth The Second
Imprinter: De La Rue

Twenty Pounds

Dated 2018

Reverse

...Guernsey - 1 Pound 2013 TDRL Commemorative

Thomas De La Rue Commemorative 2013

One Pound

Dated 2013, PNL

Reverse

Guernsey £1 Commemorative note released on 4.7.2013. This note was issued to celebrate Guernsey's world famous son, Thomas de la Rue (TDLR) 200th year of his first commercial venture. TDLR was born in La Foret, Guernsey in 1793 and founded the De La Rue plc in London, a printing company which is now the world's largest commercial security printer and papermaker. He retired from the company in 1858 and died in London England in 1866. This issue is limited to only 300,000 pieces and has a special letter prefix of TD/LR. This is also the first series of the £1 note to feature the signature of Bethan Haines (States Treasurer). Her signature also features on the existing £20 note, as well as the 2012 Queen's Diamond Jubilee commemorative note (also a £20 note).

...Guernsey - 20 Pounds Diamond Jubilee Commemorative

Commemorating Queen Elizabeth The Second Diamond Jubilee 1952-2012

Twenty Pounds

20 Pounds, Dated 2012 P61

Reverse

...Guernsey - s. Bethan Haines

One Pound (First Print X9xxxxx)

ND2016, P52d

Reverse

Ten Pounds (S/N F600333)

ND2015, P57d

Reverse

Twenty Pounds (S/N C900333)

ND4.6.2009, P58c, Serial No commencing C900001

Reverse

All notes are signed by Bethan Haines as States Treasurer with the exception of the £20 note (both the normal and commemorative). The position for the signature for the £20 note is Chief Accountant, and this is also the first denomination issued with her signature on it. Twenty Pounds

Solid 9s

Million numbered note

These are the only two unique notes that I have in my collection that both bear the portrait of Queen Elizabeth the Second. Whilst these two notes are highly sought after among serious collectors, neither of the notes are in perfect condition. The note with the solid 9s has a diagonally crease from the top to the bottom edge and the million numbered note has a small tear of about 3mm on the top edge just above the letter R of the word Guernsey. Given that these two notes were sitting at the bottom of a bundle, some flaws were expected, but generally these two notes are in uncirculated condition. Regardless of the conditions of these two notes, it is nice to have them in my collection. The first series of this Bethan Haines is printed with the prefix C900000. The current series is now printed with the prefix E000000.

...Guernsey - s. Dave Michael Clark, Treasurer

One Pound

ND1991, P52c, First Prefix T

Reverse

ND1991, P52c, Prefix U

Reverse

ND1991, P52c, Prefix V

Reverse

ND1991, P52c, Prefix W

Reverse

ND1991, P52c, Prefix X

Reverse

Five Pounds

ND1995, P56b

Reverse

Five Pounds

ND1996, P56c, Stardust Thread Security

Reverse

Ten Pounds

ND1995, P57b

Reverse

Ten Pounds Pounds

ND1995, P57c, Stardust Thread Security

Reverse

Twenty Pounds

ND1996, P58b

Reverse

I believe these are all the notes printed and issued with the signature of Dave Michael Clark (States Treasurer 2002-2009). I am not sure if the £50 was printed with his signature as we are still seeing the note of this denomination with the signature of David Peter Trestain (States Treasurer 1996 - 2002).

...The States of Guernsey - Year 2000 Millennium Commemorative

Five Pounds, Dated 2000 P60

Commemorative Millennium Issue

Reverse

This note was released at face value and it also released in a simple folder format with an extra premium of 50 pence.

View all year 2000 millennium banknotes issued

Appreciate it if you please let me know if you find any broken links. Some of the images here were scanned with 100 dpi. These were done a long time ago, however I am not going to redo them again. Those latest scans are all done with 300 dpi.