British and Irish Banknotes

Bank of England, two different watermarked papers used for trials during the late 1940s and early 1950s, intended for £5 notes to replace the venerable ‘black and white fiver’. The watermarks feature a border of wavy lines with the image of William and Mary, and are each annotated ‘Houblon’. They were intended for use with the designs drawn up by Stephen Gooden (the designer of the ‘Lion & Key £5’), all of which featured Sir John Houblon, the first Chief Cashier of the Bank of England. Each paper is glued into a blue card frame, as produced, extremely rare and indeed probably unique in private hands, a remarkable pair indicating what might have been (2 papers)
EPM unlisted, see pages 151 and 199 for details £400-£500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Paper and Proofs from the Portals Archives.

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