Jardines Galleries · Before the SARB · 1782 – 1921 · 139 years of free banking
Pre-1921 banknotes.
Before the South African Reserve Bank was established in 1921, paper money in South Africa was issued by colonial governments, roughly thirty private banks, the ZAR government, and — during the Anglo-Boer War — besieged towns and POW camps. The era opens with Dutch Governor Van Plettenberg's first paper issue in 1782 and closes with the SARB taking over central note-issue authority in 1921. This is the sequel to the Early Colonial Currency page — what came after the 1825 sterling introduction.
The era of free banking
1782 – 1921 · 139 years · Four parallel issuersFor most of South African history, paper money was not centrally issued. Colonial governments issued rixdollars and sterling-era paper; roughly thirty private banks circulated their own notes between 1837 and 1920; the ZAR government issued its own currency from 1872 to 1902; and during the Anglo-Boer War besieged towns printed emergency notes locally.
The result was a fragmented paper-money landscape with no single legal-tender authority — until the 1921 South African Reserve Bank Act ended the era in a single legislative stroke.
From siege paper to central banking
1899 – 1902 wartime emergency · 1921 SARB resolutionThe era closes with two extraordinary chapters: the Anglo-Boer War siege notes (Mafeking, Kimberley, Ladysmith, Green Point POW camp) and the Boer prisoner notes from Diyatalawa in Ceylon. Wartime paper, geographically scattered, with hard provenance.
Nineteen years later, the 1921 SARB ended free banking. The chaos that produced thirty banks and wartime emergency issues resolved into a single central bank — the inverse of the 1825 sterling moment that began this era.
Four parallel issuers
Government paper · Private banks · ZAR notes · Siege money · 1782 → 1921The 139 years before the SARB divide into four overlapping issuer categories. Government paper ran from 1782 (Dutch Van Plettenberg) through to 1841. Private banks proliferated from 1837 to 1920 — roughly thirty across the country. The ZAR government issued its own notes from 1872 to 1902. And during the Anglo-Boer War (1899 – 1902), besieged towns and POW camps printed emergency paper. All four issuer types overlapped in time — at any given moment in the late 19th century, multiple currencies were in circulation.
Government paper
The foundational chapter — colonial government paper begins with Dutch authority and continues through the British takeover into the sterling era.
- 1782 — first paper money issued by Dutch Governor Van Plettenberg. The Cape's introduction to paper currency.
- 1793 — Lombaard Bank established as the first State bank.
- 1825 – 1841 — "red stamp" and "oblong stamp" rixdollar notes. The 40-rixdollar note of 1831 is unique — the only known example is held by the South African Public Library.
- J.B. Ebden specimens (late 1820s) — Cape of Good Hope Bank 5-shilling notes, now held by the Smithsonian Institution.
Private banks
The longest and most fragmented chapter — roughly thirty private banks issued notes across the Cape, Natal, and the interior. Most were small regional operations; some failed spectacularly. The era produced both modest local issues and the rare survivors that fetch four-figure prices today.
- Cape of Good Hope Bank (1837) — the first private bank to issue notes in SA.
- Stellenbosch Bank (1854) — collapsed in 1876 after fraud and the suicide of its principal. The era's most infamous failure.
- Stellenbosch District Bank (1882 – 1990s) — the survivor that outlived almost every other private bank, operating well past the SARB era.
- Wellington Bank — £5 note sold $7,200 in 2023. $7,200 · 2023
- Swellendam Bank — £5 note sold $5,520 in 2024. $5,520 · 2024
- Malmesbury Agricultural & Commercial Bank — only one note known to be PMG-graded.
ZAR government notes
The ZAR's parallel currency system — alongside its gold and silver coinage (covered in the ZAR Hub), the government issued its own paper notes. The chapter ends with the Anglo-Boer War and the dissolution of the ZAR itself.
- 1872 1 Pond — William Brown issue. Rare survivor of the early ZAR paper era. $700 – 1,500
- 1900 issues (Pretoria) — denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 50 Pounds issued from the capital.
- 1901 1 Pound (Pietersburg) — issued from the wartime capital after British advance.
- 1902 "Te Velde" notes — literally "in the field" — the final ZAR paper produced as the war wound down. $200 – 400
Siege notes
The era's most distinctive numismatic chapter — locally-printed emergency paper from besieged Anglo-Boer War towns and POW camps. Geographically scattered, historically anchored, with hard provenance attaching to specific sieges and prisoner camps.
- Mafeking — denominations 1s, 2s, 3s, 10s, and £1. The £1 note (issued March 1900) is especially sought after. $1,000 – 2,000
- Kimberley — archival records survive; notes themselves extremely rare. The institutional documentation outpaces surviving specimens.
- Ladysmith — postal history and diaries survive; notes extremely rare. Documentation pattern parallels Kimberley.
- Green Point Track — POW camp "Good Fors" issued at the Cape Town prisoner-of-war camp. Complete sets of four sell at £70 – 100. £70 – 100 · set of 4
- Diyatalawa (Ceylon) — Boer POW notes from the Ceylon prisoner camp. A one-rupee note sold R28,000 in 2022. R28,000 · 2022
Sources
Standard banknote references · Auction archives · WCNS research- Hern, Brian. South African Banknotes & Papermoney Pre-Reserve Bank (2010). The specialist reference for pre-1921 SA paper money.
- Bergman, Walter. A History of Regular and Emergency Paper Money Issues of South Africa (1968). The standard work on regular and wartime emergency issues — see also the Bibliography.
- Noble Numismatics auction archives. Primary source for the auction prices cited above.
- Heritage Auctions. US-based archives covering the high-grade survivor notes.
- Western Cape Numismatic Society research. Specialist analysis on individual notes and issuers — see Numismatic Societies.
Library cross-references
The predecessor era · The successor banknotes · The currency contextEarly Colonial Currency
The 173-year prologue before sterling. VOC barter, Dutch coins, the 1795 paper-only crisis, the Batavian Republic, and the 1825 sterling proclamation that ushered in the era covered here.
— The successor —First SARB Series
The successor era — 1921 onwards. What came after free banking: the South African Reserve Bank's first banknote series and the consolidation of paper-money authority under a single central bank.
— The parallel coinage —ZAR Hub
The parallel ZAR coinage 1892 – 1902 — gold ponds, silver shillings, the 1892 double-shaft controversy. Companion to the ZAR notes documented here.
— The currency context —The SA Pound Symbol
The £ symbol's evolution from 1825 sterling introduction through Union and into the 1961 decimal transition. The denomination of most pre-1921 SA banknotes.