...St Helena - 2012 Specimen Issues

Ten Pounds Specimen

Dated 2012, P12bs

Reverse

Twenty Pounds Specimen

Dated 2012, P13bs

Reverse

 

With the recent release of the 2012 reprints of £10 and £20, so does the specimen notes too. Here are the two specimen notes for the £10 and £20 printed with the new date of 2012 and new signatures released in 2014. Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory located remotely in the South Atlantic Ocean. The currency of Saint Helena is at parity with the British pound sterling. Saint Helena was once the home of Napoleon Bonaparte (b. 1769-1821) from 1815 to until his death in 1821. He was exiled by the British government to this island following the defeat of the French at the Battle of Waterloo. Bonaparte died on the island on 5.5.1821, aged 51 (his remains were returned to France in 1840 and entombed in a crypt under the dome of Les Invalides in Paris). These reprint notes are all signed by the members of the Currency Board of Saint Helena. The board comprises four members (Commissioners). The facsimile signatures on these notes are Andrew Wells, Paul Blessington, Anthony Kilner and Gillian Francis. The Currency Board was established in 1976 and the role of the Commissioners is to meet on a regular basis to discuss proposals relating to the issue of all new bank notes, circulation and commemorative coins. The specimen quantity issued is not known but based on last issues, it is expected to be around 300 pieces, after all there is only one commercial bank in Saint Helena and also there are no major changes to the designs of these notes either. Therefore it is unlikely that more than 300 pieces were printed, in my opinion.