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)
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| Market scene of 1822, s/n Y 999999 solid no |
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| Daniel de Lisle Brock, Royal Court |
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| Market scene of 1822, Y 1000000 (millionth # note) |
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| 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.
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| 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)
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| nd2021, Market scene of 1822, double letter AA prefix |
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| 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.
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