The Chief Treasury of Wales
and
The Welsh Black Sheep Company

This is a work in progress and should not be regarded as definitive. It is very difficult to obtain information about the notes issued by Chief Treasury of Wales and the The Welsh Black Sheep Company. Ivor Wynne Jones, in two books, sheds much light on the issues but his books are not written for the collector. In the chart below, the known issues are recorded and some are illustrated. However it is probable that other varieties of notes exist, most likely with duty stamps that carry different dates, but also there is the possibility that some series, shown only as cancelled issues, were also issued without a cancellation stamp.

Denomination Image Status Duty Stamp Dates No. Issued Comments
The Chief Treasury of Wales Preliminary (Typwritten) Issue
These four notes were prepared on a typewriter to test whether the notes would receive a duty stamp.
10s.   Issued 10.3.69 1
£1   Issued 10.3.69 1
£5   Issued 10.3.69 1
£10   Issued 10.3.69 1
The Chief Treasury of Wales First Issue
The notes have a coloured front with a red dragon and a green abacus, to the lower right, and a painting of Caernarfon Castle on the back. All promissory clauses (on the back) promise to pay the bearer on demand.
10s.   Issued 17.3.69 49
£1   Issued 17.3.69 100
£5   Issued 17.3.69 26
£10   Issued 17.3.69 26
£5 Image Cancelled 21.3.69 26 Stamped 'Cancelled 29 April 1969'.
£10 Image Cancelled 21.3.69 26
£100,000   Issued 24.3.69 1
£1,000,000   Issued   1
The Chief Treasury of Wales Sight Notes
The notes have a coloured front with a red dragon and a green abacus, to the lower right, and a drawing of two sheep at the lower right. A painting of Caernarfon Castle is on the back and the promissory clauses now promise to pay the bearer one day after sight.
10s.   Issued 8.4.69 1 Stamped to ensure sight notes were legal.
£1   Issued 8.4.69 1
10s. Image Issued and
Cancelled		 17.4.69   The cancelled notes are stamped 'Cancelled 29 April 1969'.
1,500 of each denomination (10s. and £1) were prepared. This total includes the notes below, which were overstamped 'Cancelled By Order'.
£1 Image Issued and
Cancelled		 17.4.69  
10s.   Cancelled     No Duty Stamp and overstamped 'Cancelled By Order'.
£1   Cancelled    
The Welsh Black Sheep Company First Issue
The front of these notes was based on the last note issue of the North and South Wales Bank. The central illustration is of the Menai suspension bridge built in 1826. Apart from the initial issue, the notes carry the illustration of Caernarfon Castle that appeared on previous issues.
10s.   Issued 28.4.69 12 Uniface notes, prepared to be stamped with the duty stamp to ensure validity.
£1   Issued 28.4.69 10
£5   Issued 28.4.69 10
£10   Issued 28.4.69 8
10s. Image Issued 6.5.69 20
£1 Image Issued 6.5.69 20
£5 Image Issued 6.5.69 20
£10   Issued 6.5.69 20
£1,000,000   Unissued   1
The Welsh Black Sheep Company – Five Shilling Notes
5s. Image Issued 3.6.69   Head of a bull at far right.
5s.   Issued 18.6.69   Outline of a bull at far right.
5s.   Cancelled 18.6.69   Outline of a bull at far right; stamped 'ENGHRAIFFT'; signature 1.
5s. Image Cancelled 18.6.69   Outline of a bull at far right; stamped 'ENGHRAIFFT'; signature 2.
5s.   Issued 18.3.70   Modified Prince of Wales Feather (single feather) at upper left.
5s. Image Cancelled 27.8.70   Modified Prince of Wales Feather (single feather) at upper left.
5s. Image Cancelled None!   No duty Stamp. Stamp reads 'First February 1971 Stamp Duty Abolished'. Modified Prince of Wales Feather (single feather) at upper left.
The Welsh Black Sheep Company – American Issue
£1   Issued 5.9.69 24 Printed in black ink.
£5   Unissued   400 Printed in green ink and no duty stamp.
£100   Unissued    
The Castle Notes – First Series
The notes are denominated 'Punt Gymreag' or 'Welsh Pounds'. The word 'Gynt' (meaning 'Formerly') at the bottom left of the notes is offset from the rest of the line.
10s. Image Issued 9.10.69   Hand signed. A black sheep and a red dragon appear in, respectively, the top left and bottom right on the back of the notes.
£1 Image Issued 9.10.69  
£5   Issued 9.10.69  
£10   Issued 9.10.69  
10s. Image Cancelled 9.10.69   The word 'CANCELLED' and a facsimile signature are printed in dark red ink on the notes. A black sheep and a red dragon appear in, respectively, the top left and bottom right on the back of the notes.
£1 Image Cancelled 9.10.69  
£5 Image Cancelled 9.10.69  
£10 Image Cancelled 9.10.69  
10s. Image Cancelled 20.10.69   The notes are handsigned. A red stamp reading 'CANCELLED 22 OCT 1969' is imprinted on the notes. The black sheep and a red dragon have disappeared from the back of the notes.
£1 Image Cancelled 20.10.69  
£5 Image Cancelled 20.10.69  
£10 Image Cancelled 20.10.69  
The Castle Notes – Second Series
The notes are no longer denominated as Welsh currency. The word 'Gynt' (meaning 'Formerly') at the bottom left of the notes is now aligned with the rest of the line. A vignette of Caernarfon Castle appears in the four corners on the back of the notes.
10s. Image Cancelled 10.12.69   The signature is part of the lithographed printing of the illustration. The word 'CANCELLED' is printed in black ink at rightangles to the rest of the text on the notes.
£1 Image Cancelled 10.12.69  
£5 Image Cancelled 10.12.69  
£10 Image Cancelled 10.12.69  
10s.   Cancelled 24.02.70   The signature is part of the lithographed printing of the illustration. The word 'CANCELLED' is printed in black ink at rightangles to the rest of the text on the notes. The world 'C A N C E L L E D' is double-spaced.
£1   Cancelled 24.02.70  
£5 Image Cancelled 24.02.70  
£10 Image Cancelled 24.02.70  
10s.   Cancelled 27.8.70   The cancellation stamp is printed in read and reads 'CANCELLED 11 DEC 1970'.
£1   Cancelled 27.8.70  
£5   Cancelled 27.8.70  
£10   Cancelled 27.8.70  
10s. Image Cancelled 15.1.71   The cancellation stamp is printed in black and reads simply 'CANCELLED'. The signature appears to be stamped in the same process as the word 'CANCELLED' and the two elements were probably part of the same stamp.
£1 Image Cancelled 15.1.71  
£5 Image Cancelled 15.1.71  
£10 Image Cancelled 15.1.71  
10s. Image Issued 22.1.71   Although only recorded in issued form, notes with this duty stamp may have been issued as 'Cancelled'.
£1   Issued 22.1.71  
£5   Issued 22.1.71  
£10   Issued 22.1.71  
The Fifty Pence Notes
The notes carry a picture of Mount Snowdon.
50p.   Issued 27.11.69   10,000 are reported to have been issued. It is not know how many dates exist for the notes issued.
50p. Image Issued 16.12.69  
50p. Image Issued     Issued after the abolition of the duty stamp, it carries a rubber-stamped message 'First February 1971 Stamp Duty Abolished'.
The 'Little Railways of Wales' Series
Issued in 1970, they were issued following the destruction of the Britannia Bridge. The carry no date and no revenue stamp. It is understood that 100 sets were issued without the 'SPECIMEN' stamp. It is not known how many were issued with the stamp.
20p.   Issued   100
50p.   Issued   100
£1   Issued   100
£2   Issued   100
20p. Image Specimen    
50p. Image Specimen    
£1 Image Specimen    
£2 Image Specimen    
The Famous Welshmen Series
Issued in 1971, they carried porraits of famous Welshmen.
£1   Issued 7.12.70 1 These two notes were sent to be stamped with the duty stamp as a test to see if the authorities would stamp this series.
£2   Issued 7.12.70 1
£¼   Issued 14.12.70 100 Portrait of Judge George Jeffreys.
£½   Issued 14.12.70 100 Portrait of Sir John Vaughan.
£1   Issued 14.12.70 100 Portrait of Humphrey Llwyd.
£2   Issued 14.12.70 100 Portrait of Sir William Williams.
£¼   Issued     Portrait of Sir John Trevor.
£¼ Image Cancelled 27.06.1972   Portrait of Sir John Trevor.
£½ Image Cancelled 27.06.1972   Portrait of Sir John Vaughan.
£1 Image Cancelled 27.06.1972   Portrait of Humphrey Llwyd.
£2 Image Cancelled 27.06.1972   Portrait of Sir William Williams.

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