Gibraltar celebrates 2015 centennial with new note

By Arthur L. Friedberg

Published: Sep 2, 2016, 5 AM

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The government of Gibraltar will soon issue a polymer £100 bank note to commemorate, a year after the fact, the 100th birthday of Sir Joshua Hassan.

Image courtesy of Gibraltar Chronicle.

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The face of the note will continue to show the prevailing portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

Image courtesy of Gibraltar Chronicle.

The government of Gibraltar said on Aug. 24 that it will soon issue a polymer £100 bank note to commemorate, a year after the fact, the 100th birthday of Sir Joshua Hassan. Hassan was Gibraltar’s mayor and first and third chief minister, as well as a proponent of civil rights and self-government for the British territory.

The note is equivalent to $132 in U.S. funds and will be the first Gibraltarian note of any denomination made out of polymer. The notes will be manufactured by De La Rue on its Safeguard substrate and will be dated 21 AUGUST 2015. The face will continue to show the prevailing portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, but the back will change from the standard £100 note’s design of the King’s Bastion to show instead a bust of Hassan.

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The issue will have a large clear window with a hologram that can be seen from both the face and back of the note and that will be highly reflective, showing images of Queen Elizabeth II and the letter G for Gibraltar.

The first note, with serial number C000001, was presented to members of Hassan’s family.

The release of the £100 denomination completes Gibraltar’s new series of bank notes that was inaugurated in 2011. The other are the £5, £10, £20, and £50 denominations.