Banknotes of the Black Sheep Company of Wales Limited were private sterling banknotes issued between June 1969 and 1972 by the Welsh banker Richard Hugh Williams of Llandudno,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The notes were a private issue by Williams's private banking venture, and each issue had to be approved by the Board of Trade. Although not official

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...

in Wales, they would have enjoyed a similar status to Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes as promissory notes.

History

In March 1969 Richard issued notes called ''Banknotes of the Chief Treasury of Wales Limited''. These continued to be issued until June 1969. The Board of Trade was uncomfortable with his use of the Welsh word for "treasury" in the name of his company - ('Chief Treasury of Wales Ltd'), as it appeared to confer upon his endeavour the functions of state. The Board therefore imposed numerous restrictions on the denominations permitted, and refused to approve notes below the value of £5. The last issue of the Chief Treasury of Wales Ltd was a £1 million pound note.

The use of the Black Sheep

Williams was forced to change the name of his company in 1969 and he selected ("Welsh Black Sheep Company Limited"), recalling the banknotes which had been issued for over 150 years by the

Aberystwyth and Tregaron Bank The bank officially known as the Aberystwith and Tregaron Bank was established at Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire in the beginning of the 19th century and was locally known as ‘Banc y Ddafad Ddu’, because the bank notes were imprinted with an eng ...

and used to feature an illustration of black

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

Operation of the currency

The earliest issues contained a phrase in Welsh that referred to the Chief Treasury of Wales Limited, so that anyone who had the old notes knew who would exchange them for new notes. The phrase in question is "", the company thus describing itself as "". Williams had to send his banknotes to the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation t ...

at Somerset House prior to issue; according to the law of the time, promissory notes each attracted a stamp duty payment by Williams of 2 d, and notes were stamped with a "two pence" duty stamp. The Board of Trade imposed numerous restrictions on the denominations permitted, Williams's use of the term "£G" (meaning "Welsh pound", suggesting a separate currency) and his use of the

Prince of Wales's feathers The Prince of Wales's feathers is the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales, during the use of the title by the English and later British monarchy. It consists of three white ostrich feathers emerging from a gold coronet. A ribbon below the corone ...

in the designs.

Decimal currency issue

This issue was released into circulation as from the 15 February 1971. Williams ceased production of the notes and he was eventually declared bankrupt by Bangor Crown Court in 1978.

References

External links