The Trevor Wilkin Collection of Siege Notes

Foreword

When Thomasina and I first began our careers in this wonderful hobby, well over a decade ago, Trevor was one of the first people to introduce himself at the Maastricht show. He would always take the time to chat, asking about us and what we were doing, and to offer his help and advice. His superb talks on a variety of subjects were always informative and memorable. For my part, I particularly enjoyed our many conversations about his siege note collection.

Siege notes are a niche but popular subsidiary of military banknote collecting. All of the notes in this catalogue were produced during incredibly turbulent periods of human history. Most are printed on poor- quality paper never intended for this use, using cheap inks and jury rigged printing machines. The majority were produced and hand signed by men, very often soldiers, who certainly never imagined they would be issuing money simply to keep a town or fortification running during weeks, sometimes months, of desperation. Perhaps most humbling is the fact that many of those who signed the notes did not live to see beyond these sieges.

I have a keen interest in military history and, by extension, military banknotes. Researching and cataloguing this remarkable collection has therefore been one of the highlights of my career. It is extremely unlikely I will ever see many of these items ever again. Several of them are unique, certainly outside of institutions, and handling them is a privilege I will not soon forget. Of all the notes in his collection, Trevor was most proud of his incredible 1 Piastre from the Siege of Khartoum. This small and unassuming note is believed to be the only example in private hands, and bore witness to one of the most dramatic events in colonial African history.

We do hope you enjoy this special catalogue. Our hope is that it is a fitting testament to both Trevor and his collection, and that it will find a place in numismatic libraries for years to come.

Wishing you all the best of luck with your bids,
Andrew, Thomasina, Barnaby and Mike