I have got 3 of the well-known private banknotes from Wales that were used as currency during 1969.These notes are affectionately known as 'Black Sheep' banknotes.The place of issue is LLandudno.Here is some descriptions of the 3 notes in my collection. Gwmni y Ddafad Ddu Gymreig Cyfyngedig (Black Sheep Company of Wales Limited); 5/- (5 Swllt); Front; Snorting bull at right.Prince of Wales feathers at top left.Blue 2d. embossed stamp at left.A bridge is in the middle of the note.(I can guess that this is the famous bridge over the Menai Strait to the island of Anglesey (where Llanfair PG is located)).'ENGHRAIFFT' in blue. Back; Green back with a 5 in the middle & 5's in the corners. 10 Pounds; Front; Sheep in bottom left corner.Cardiff Castle in the middle.Red Dragon at top right.Blue 2d. embossed stamp at right.'CANCELLED' stamped vertically at right. Back; Green back with 10 Pounds (short notation) in the middle.4 castles in the corners. Both notes are inscribed 'Gynt, Prif Trysorfa Cymru Cyfyngedig',which is a reference to the name below. Prif Trysorfa Cymru Limited (Chief Treasury of Wales Limited); 1 Pound (1 Punt); Front; 2 sheep at bottom.Red Dragon at right.'Cancelled By Order' in red across the middle. Back; Picture of a castle & boats.(The castle could be any one of the other famous Welsh castles (Conway,Caernarvon,Harlech,or Beaumaris.It is not of Cardiff Castle.) The 2 top notes are inscribed solely in Welsh,whereas,the bottom note has English inscriptions on the back & on the front at the bottom. If you have any information about these banknotes,please can you leave a posting.
Catman,I cannot provide scans of anything,as I don't have a scanner.I have to borrow a computer. If I did have a scanner,I would.I'm sorry.
There is now a book that has been published about the Black Sheep notes from Wales.The title of the book is called 'Money Galore;The Story of the Welsh Pound'.The author is Ivor Wynne Jones.It is published by Landmark Publishing Limited.There are 112 pages with 16 illustrations in colour,plus some black & white pictures.It had a price of 9 Pounds & 95 Pence.
If you have got a copy of the World Coins magazine of September 1969 (Vol.6 No.69),there is an article about the Black Sheep banknotes there.The signature on the Black Sheep notes is that of Richard Williams.The highest denomination issued was 1 Million Pounds.
These notes will in time be depicted on my British Commonwealth website www.bcnumismaticproject.com . Aidan.
The original notes had a political/economic motivation by their creator, the latter notes were created solely for the aftermarket and even were sold in Chemists shoppes for 45p a packet. Now said notes sell for egregious sums online in auction venues. The earliest were the Castle series, the latter notes I have seen were of Welsh railroads, and they got pretty topical like postage stamps created solely for collectors, and had lost all appearance of having monetary purpose. I have a 5 Swilt from approximately 1969, it is one of the original printed on tax stamped paper to validate it's existence in the eyes of the British crown. I wish I could obtain the rest of the series, but even this note was purchased more than 5 years ago from a seller in the USA.
Krasnaya Vityaz,the first 'Black Sheep' notes were printed on plain paper without any design apart from a dragon. The 5 Swllt is actually the Welsh 5 Shillings note.The word 'Swllt' (pronounced 'shoolt') is actually the Welsh word for 'Shilling'.I have also got one of these. This belongs in the paper money section,please transfer it there. Aidan.
Steve,this section will be of interest to you.If you can translate the inscription on my Welsh banknotes,that would be very nice. Aidan.
Here's a link depicting some Black Sheep banknotes; www.pjsymes.com.au/Bsheep/Bsheep.htm . Please transfer this thread into the Banknote section. Aidan.
