5 Shillings 1972, Nigeria
| in Krause book | Number: 10а |
| Years of issue: | 1972 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Governor: Dr. Clement Nyong Isong (Served From: 15/8/1972 - Retired 24/9/1975), General manager: Mr. D. O. Dafinone (7/1/1970 - 10/15/1975) |
| Serie: | Third Series |
| Specimen of: | 1968 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 126 х 73 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Head of lion. Security thread.
Avers:
The building of Bank of Nigeria in Lagos is on left side.
The building was built in the second half of the 1950s, it is embodied on the banknote as it looked just after construction.
Lagos, 1965
Denominations in numerals are in all corners. In words in lower right corner.
Revers:
Two workers sawing tree trunks.
Today, May 21, 2020, I decided to look for any materials on this banknote. And not useless:)
As it turned out, something on the banknote went unnoticed.
Firstly, on the tree trunk, which the workers saw, there is a marking - CE JА 22/55/1.
Secondly - the saw, itself, is very interesting.
In third - there is Timber rafting also visible, on background.
Timber rafting is a method of transporting felled tree trunks by tying them together to make rafts, which are then drifted or pulled downriver, or across a lake or other body of water. It is arguably, after log driving, the second cheapest means of transporting felled timber. Both methods may be referred to as timber floating.
Unlike log driving, which was a dangerous task of floating separate logs, floaters or raftsmen could enjoy relative comfort of navigation, with cabins built on rafts, steering by means of oars and possibility to make stops. On the other hand, rafting requires wider waterflows.
Timber rafts were also used as a means of transportation of people and goods, both raw materials (ore, fur, game) and man-made.
Theophrastus (Hist. Plant. 5.8.2) records how the Romans imported Corsican timber by way of a huge raft propelled by as many as fifty masts and sails.
This practice used to be common in many parts of the world, especially North America and on all main rivers of Germany. Timber rafting allowed for connecting large continental forests, as in south western Germany, via Main, Neckar, Danube and Rhine with the coastal cities and states, early modern forestry and remote trading were closely connected. Large pines in the black forest were called „Holländer“, as they were traded to the Netherlands. Large timber rafts on the Rhine were 200 to 400 m. in length, 40 m. wide and consisted of several thousand logs. The crew consisted of 400 to 500 men, including shelter, bakeries, ovens and livestock stables. Timber rafting infrastructure allowed for large interconnected networks all over continental Europe. The advent of the railroad, steam boat vessels and improvements in trucking and road networks gradually reduced the use of timber rafts. It is still of importance in Finland. In Spain, this method of transport was used in the Ebro, Tajo, Júcar, Turia and Segura rivers, mainly and to a lesser extent in the Guadalquivir. There is documentary evidence of these uses as early as the sixteenth century, and its use was extended until the middle of the XX century. 
2 questions - what exactly does the marking means and the question about the brand and manufacturer of the saw - I asked two museums logging (yes, there are some). One is in the USA, the other is in Austria. I also sent a request for a large sawmill in the UK. We'll see or they will answer (entry dated May 21, 2020).
Record of May 26, 2020 - 5 days have passed. I sent inquiries to 3 museums, 1 power-saw bench:), and 4 collectors from Germany, Slovenia, Austria and the USA.
Only one answered, from Germany.
Thanks so much to Herr Peter Schlicht, from Germany, collectioner of vintage saws, owner of website https://www.oldtimer-motorsaegen.de/. Here is, what he wrote to me:
"Dear ....
it was a very interesting task, thanks.
I really liked it. First of all, the movie is very good! I have not seen this before.
Now about the saw, which is shown on the banknote. In any case, this is an English saw from Danarm or TELES. But, I suspect, rather, TELES.
I am sending you two brochures (advertisements) indicating such a saw.
Which TELES model is not sure yet, I will need to view my documents, in more detail.
Now about the marking on the trunks.
This is the length and diameter of the tree. Usually located on the front of the trunks. The third number is for the dealer or sawmill, internal encoding.
Thanks for this great info."
I tried to look for a similar saw myself. It also seemed to me that it was Teles or Danarm, but, later, I abandoned the thought of Danarm, since some obvious details do not coincide with the image on the banknote.
Yes, there is also a thin blade on Teles, above the main blade, which is not on the banknote. But, as collectors explained to me, these thin canvases often broke down in work and many simply no longer used them, removing the fasteners from the saw.
As for marking on trunks, I still have questions.
While waiting for answers. The version about the diameter and length of the trunks seems logical, but - the vast majority of trunks has the number 55 (and on the banknote too). What is it, length, diameter? Can there be so many trunks of exactly the same length or one diameter?
For some reason, it seems to me that this is the year of the log house - 1955. But then, it turns out that the banknote engravers watched the same film that I found and put in the description, because they also indicated the year of the log house 1955 on the banknote :). That's all for now.
In the meantime, I found one video on You tube. It’s just about banknotes, by the way - a very interesting video, the 1957 film, entitled "The twilight forest". From there I took 2 frames that fit the description 100%.
The major wood processing industries in Nigeria are typically large capacity facilities industry such as large sawmills, plywood mill, pulp and paper plants and quite large numbers of small scale wood products manufacturing companies such as furniture industries, cabinet makers and carpentry. Round-wood in Nigeria comes mostly from the natural high forest zone of the country, in particular from the Southern States of Nigeria, but most especially in Ondo, Cross River, Ogun, Edo, Delta Ekiti, Osun and Oyo States of Nigeria which are the largest producers. The most important wood products, produced, consumed and traded in Nigeria are sawn-wood, plywood, particle board, news-print, printing and writing paper and other paper boards.
Denominations in numerals are in all corners. In words lower, centered.
Comments:
On banknote are signatures of:
Governor of the Bank Dr.Clement Nyong Isong.
General manager of the Bank Mr. D.Dafinone.
The pound was the currency of Nigeria between 1907 and 1973. Until 1958, Nigeria used the British West African pound, after which it issued its own currency. The pound was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. The Nigerian pound (which was at parity with the British pound with easy convertibility) was replaced with the introduction in 1973 of the decimal naira at a rate of 1 pound = 2 naira. This made Nigeria the last country to abandon the £sd currency system.
In 1918, emergency issues were made by the government in denominations of 1, 10 and 20 shillings. In 1959, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced notes in denominations of 5 and 10 shillings, 1 and 5 pounds. Three series of notes were issued, in 1958, 1967 and 1968.
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