Elusive 1868 Griqua Een Pond Banknote - S Africa

The history behind this little known bank note is equally sketchy but this much we do know - it is extremely rare with an estimated 20 copies surviving today.

20,000 of the Een Pond (One Pound) banknotes were printed in Cape Town in 1867 at the request of the Griqua Raad (Government) based in Kokstad (East Griqualand). A well respected local white trader, Donald Strachan, was given the task of bringing the package of notes back to Kokstad across what was then extremely hostile territory.

The 20,000 notes, dated 1868, arrived in Kokstad and before one could be issued the Secretary of the Raad, Brisley, raised a serious concern. The Griqua had nothing tangible to back the promise to pay against each one pound note.

So the bank notes were never issued, but were stored in the safe of Strachan and Company at the nearby village of Umzimkhulu.

The notes were largely forgotten until the elderly Priest of the Kokstad Church mentioned to Donald Strachan in passing that he was writing a book about the early history of Kokstad. This sparked Strachan's memory about the bank notes stored in his safe and he told the Priest (Rev William Dower) that he still had all the Een Pond notes.

He said that he would burn them as they were from a bygone era and had no practical purpose in a country which had changed dramatically since the British unilaterally annexed East Griqualand in 1878.

Dower asked if he could have 200 of the unissued notes to insert into each of his books. Strachan agreed and when Dower's book "The early annals of Kokstad" was published in 1902 each copy carried one of the original 1868 Griqua Een Pond banknotes. The notes were reduced by about 3mm on each side when the book was trimmed before binding by way of two large staples which can be seen in the top left and right of the Griqua Een Pond notes that have been extracted from the book.

The remaining Een Pond notes held in the safe at Umzimkhulu were burnt leaving just the 200 notes in Dower's book.

Dower's book, when published, caused considerable consternation amongst the Griqua at Kokstad as he had, as their Priest, written about them in less than glowing terms. The newspapers at Grahamstown and Kokstad from those times carry several angry letters, written by Griqua who lived at Kokstad, expressing outrage against Dower.

Dower was even under siege in his own Church at Kokstad. It was and still is a beautiful Church in the centre of the town - all the furnishings are in yellow wood - with Dower being the unpaid skilled craftsman who built the Church from scratch. Today it is called the "Griqua Church" and remains a very important symbol among the Griqua of their checkered past.

Dower had only sold a few of the books which he stored under the steps of the Church leading to the gallery. Before Church one Sunday, back in 1902, a large group of Griqua assembled at the Church door and broke in. They opened the closet where the books were stored and ceremonially burnt the entire stock on the steps of the Church - destroying almost all the remaining Griqua Een Pond notes carried in Dower's book.

Today just a handful of these extremely rare books remain and Dower's book is highly sought after.

Yes there are two or three Griqua Een Pond notes that remain without the telltale holes reflecting their origins - Dower's book. Until recently just two copies were known - both with large cuts across them and carrying the word "Cancelled".

Last week I was contacted by a friend of mine in South Africa who has one of the largest antiquarian bookshops in the country. He had a surprise for me.

An original copy of Dower's book with the Een Pond note bound in it in perfect condition. BUT there was more - the book had another copy of the original note carefully folded inside it. It was in excellent condition apart from a small stain and the centre fold.

It was about 3mm wider on each side than the trimmed copy in the book and was not marked or cut like the only other known unbound copies of the Griqua Een Pond note.

I bought it and the book immediately.

A photo of this unique unbound Griqua Een Pond note can be seen below.

Scott Balson