Treasury Bills, the original 1886 designs (2) and original trials (2) for £1000 Treasury...

Treasury Bills, the original 1886 designs (2) and original trials (2) for £1000 Treasury Bill paper, as used on most bills until the late 2000s, with the only variation going forward being that of denomination at centre, the lot consists of a pen and paint sketch of an early design, a more detailed imagining of the almost final design, along with two fully watermarked paper trials dated 22 July 1886, together with two blue Portals envelopes detailing the items in question, very probably unique and a remarkable piece of banking history (4 items, 2 envelopes) Unlisted £500-£700 --- VAT This lot is subject to VAT at 20% of the hammer price unless exported outside the UK. If exported then VAT is still applicable to the buyer's premium --- --- Treasury Bills, using this exact watermark design, were used for over 100 years, from the mid 1880s until their abolition in the late 2000s, when they were replaced by electronic transfers. Notes such as these were issued every week in the City under a secretive system which enabled the British Government to manage its short term borrowing policy and make sure that sufficient funds were always available to meet any net daily cash shortfall. Financial institutions tendered for Treasury Bills every Friday, specifying that they wanted the Bills on a particular day the following week. The bills were physically collected from the Bank of England for delivery by messengers.