Royal Borough of Birkenhead, a proposed National Municipal Note Issue in the style of a Treasury third issue £1, denominated in goods pounds, 1 June 1934, with an explanation printed on the reverse, claiming that these notes would enable ‘your Corporation to abolish rates, build houses without interest, and turn poverty into plenty’, if only the public would have confidence in them, fine and rare
Outing unlisted £150-£200

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Sir David Kirch Collection of Skit Notes.

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Collection

While the scheme never took off, this is a remarkable example of an early attempt at local currency, although it must be remembered that the last provincial banks were only closed within easy living memory, so perhaps the idea wasn’t that new after all.