A FULL SET OF INCREDIBLY RARE CONSTANTINOPLE ESTATE PRIVATE ISSUES

CONSTANTINOPLE ESTATE, JOHORE, 25 Cents, 1878, serial number 100, green, star and crescent at top centre, manuscript signature at low left, printed by the Al Sa’aidi Press in Singapore, in PMG holder 30, v very ne, amongst only a handful of examples in private hands, exceptionally rare

TBB unlisted, Pick unlisted, KNB 1 S$10,000-S$15,000

This is the KNB plate note

CONSTANTINOPLE ESTATE, JOHORE, 50 Cents, 1878, serial number 100, red, star and crescent top centre, manuscript signature at low left, printed by the Al Sa’aidi Press in Singapore, in PMG holder 25, very ne, extremely rare, with very few others extant, especially in private hands, and in exceptional grade

TBB unlisted, Pick unlisted, KNB 2 S$10,000-S$15,000

This is the KNB plate note

CONSTANTINOPLE ESTATE, JOHORE, $1, 1878, serial number 170, black, star and crescent top centre, two manuscript signatures below, printed by the Al Sa’aidi Press in Singapore, in PMG holder 35, choice very ne, astonishing grade, with lovely original paper, and one of a mere handful of examples extant TBB unlisted, Pick unlisted, KNB 3 S$10,000-S$15,000

CONSTANTINOPLE ESTATE, JOHORE, $2, 1878, serial number faded, red, star and crescent top centre, manuscript signature low left, printed by the Al Sa’aidi Press in Singapore, paper damage and mounting traces, paper signi cantly toned, in PMG holder 20 NET, very ne, extremely rare and indeed one of the only examples known, a remarkable item regardless of grade TBB unlisted, Pick unlisted, KNB 4 S$8,000-S$12,000

This is the KNB plate note

In 1898, the Straits Settlements government began issuing its own banknotes, to be circulated alongside those already being provided by the private banks. This trend was part of a global e ort by the Crown to regulate banking across the British Empire, and by 1921, all private banknote issuance in the Straits Settlements had ceased.

Because of the scattered nature of the settlements and the small wealthy population, comparatively few government notes were printed. When combined with the rapid nature of paper decomposition in the tropical climate, it is not surprising that very few Straits Settlements notes survive in reasonable grades. On the other hand, the extreme wealth of the region, as well as its remoteness, necessitated the issuance of small numbers of very high denomination banknotes for $1000 and even $10,000.

For almost 45 years, the government issued a variety of beautiful notes, with several designs for the same denomination sometimes circulating in parallel. The last government notes were issued in 1941, when the invading Japanese took control of the region.