Jersey Banknotes 50 Pounds banknote 2010 Queen Elizabeth II
FIFTY POUND - CINQUANTE LIVRES - CHÎNQUANTE LOUIS
Obverse: A mature portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II adapted from an official portrait taken at Sandringham House. The Queen is wearing The Grand Duchess Vladimir of Russia's Tiara. This tiara was inherited by the Grand Duchess's daughter, the Grand Duchess Helen who subsequently married Prince Nicholas of Greece. Queen Mary bought the tiara from Princess Nicholas in 1921. The tiara has fifteen pearl drops but Princess Mary had fifteen emeralds mounted in such a way that they are interchangeable with the pearls. In this illustration, Her Majesty is wearing the tiara with the pearl drops.
The Cherry Red £50 note carries the impressive outline of the medieval castle of Mont Orgueil while the reverse features the houses on the island of La Marmotière in Les Écréhous and the round tower - Ouaisné Tower at Ouaisné Bay.
Watermark: Jersey cow, ‘50’ which appears as a highlight against the watermark.
See-Through Feature: Map of Jersey.
Jersey Banknotes - Jersey paper money
2010
The designs for Jersey’s new set of bank notes highlight some of the best known examples of the island’s architecture, history and culture. The front of the notes features the traditional hand engraved intaglio portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, based on a photographic portrait by Mark Lawrence, with the words States of Jersey and the crest beneath. The central vignettes on both the front and reverse feature important Jersey landmarks.The reverse of each note carries the denominational value in numbers, in French and in Jersey’s language, Jèrrias, as well as the words États de Jersey and the twelve parish crests. The notes also feature hand engraved images of various Jersey Round Towers: these defensive towers were built around the coast between 1780 and 1800 to protect the island from invasion. Once protecting the shores of the island from attack in the Napoleonic wars, these towers are now monuments to a time gone by and are among the first landmarks encountered by visitors to the island.
Medieval Castle of Mont Orgueil
Symbolising Jersey’s independence, the medieval castle at Gorey, Mont Orgueil (‘Mount Pride’) has stood guard over the island’s east coast for more than 800 years. It was built after England’s King John lost possession of Normandy to France in 1204. The castle withstood numerous attacks by the French and was only taken by force twice - in 1380 and again in 1461.
The castle’s importance was eclipsed by the construction of Elizabeth Castle. During the seventeenth century it was used as a political prison by the English Crown and in the late 1700s it served as headquarters for a counter-revolutionary spy network and as a refuge for aristocrats fleeing the French Revolution.
The Crown gave the castle to the States of Jersey in 1907 so it could be kept as an historic monument, the only interruption being during the Second World War, when the occupying German force adapted it to its own needs. In the last few years, extensive restoration has been undertaken.
Les Écréhous are a group of islands and rocks situated six miles north-east of Jersey (eight miles from France).They form part of the Bailiwick of Jersey and are administratively part of the Parish of St. Martin.There are no permanent residents on the islands, which are separated in places by impressive sandbanks, visible only at low tide.
Ouaisné Tower on Ouaisné Common is also known as Le Tour du Hoinet or St Brelade’s No 1. Sometimes referred to as Conway towers, these were built on the orders of General Seymour Conway, the Governor of Jersey. The first four were completed by 1779, then the building programme was accelerated after the French invasion and Battle of Jersey in 1781.
During the Napoleonic Wars it was equipped with one 18-pounder cannon mounted on the roof. The original first-floor doorway is still intact, but the doorway on the ground floor, added later, has been blocked and rendered. Today the tower is painted on the seaward side with red and white horizontal bands to act as a navigation mark.