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1 Pound Sterling 1969, Guernsey

in Banknotes Book Number: GU34a
Years of issue: 1969
Edition:
Signatures: Treasurer: Mr. L.A. Guillemette
Serie: No Serie
Specimen of: 1969
Material: Cotton fiber
Size (mm): 135 x 75
Printer: Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company Limited, New Malden

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1 Pound Sterling 1969

Description

Watermark:

watermark

The inscription: "States of Guernsey".

Unfortunately, I was able to make the photos only from the first and last parts of the inscription.

Avers:

1 Pound Sterling 1969

The panel with Guernsey's coat of arms or emblem in the middle.

The coat of arms of Guernsey is the official symbol of the Channel Island of Guernsey. It is a red shield with three gold lions (historically described as leopards) passant guardant surmounted by a small branch of leaves. It is very similar to the arms of Normandy, Jersey and England.

Right of the seal is the Tudor rose.

The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the Tudor dynasty.

Denominations in numeral are on the right and left sides.

Revers:

1 Pound Sterling 1969

Cornet castle

Castle Cornet is a large island castle in Guernsey, and former tidal island, also known as Cornet Rock or Castle Rock, which has been part of one of the breakwaters of St Peter Port's harbour, the main one in the island, since 1859.

The island measures about two hectares in area, with a length of 175 meters and a width of 130 meters. It lies not quite 600 meters east of the coast of Guernsey.

Formerly a tidal island, like Lihou on the west coast of Guernsey, it was first fortified as a castle between 1206 and 1256, following the division of the Duchy of Normandy in 1204. In 1339 when a French force captured the island and occupied it for several years, Cornet was besieged and captured, and the garrison massacred.

With the advent of cannon and gunpowder, the castle was remodelled between 1545 and 1548. Prof. John Le Patourel, in The Building of Castle Cornet mentions that in 1566, iron and hammers were taken to "Creavissham" (i.e. Crevichon), and that island quarried for the castle.

It served as official residence of the Governor of Guernsey until 1672 when the keep was catastrophically destroyed. A bolt of lightning struck the magazine of the castle, destroying the keep and a number of living quarters. The Governor at the time was Lord Hatton. His mother, wife and a number of members of staff were killed in the explosion.

It became integrated into the breakwater after the period of the Napoleonic Wars.

Along the breakwater, a pond for toy yachts was constructed in 1887 for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, which served as a seaplane base during World War I.

During World War II, it was occupied by a small garrison of German troops. It was presented to the people of Guernsey in 1945 by the Crown.

The castle today incorporates the following museums:

1) The Story of Castle Cornet

2) Maritime Museum

3) 201 Squadron RAF Museum

4) Royal Guernsey Militia Museum - including artifacts from Royal Guernsey Light Infantry.

It also has a restaurant, and hosts outdoor theatre performances during the summer months.

Denominations in numeral are in top corners, in words in lower right corner.

Comments:

Security strip.

The pound is the currency of Guernsey. Since 1921, Guernsey has been in currency union with the United Kingdom and the Guernsey pound is not a separate currency but is a local issue of banknotes and coins denominated in pound sterling, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It can be exchanged at par with other sterling coinage and notes.