Guernsey P-52d 1 Pound ND (1991-2016) UNC—Signature BH

One of the most elegant £1 notes ever issued by a British Crown dependency — Guernsey's P-52 series is a masterclass in classical engraving, pairing a stately portrait of the island's most celebrated Bailiff with a vivid Victorian market scene that captures St Peter Port at its 19th-century peak.

Front

• Colors: deep forest green dominant engraving; pale mint/aqua green background; darker green accents on coat of arms and denomination box
• Portrait of Daniel De Lisle Brock, Bailiff of Guernsey 1762–1842, in formal dress with cravat
• The Royal Court, St Peter Port — neoclassical building engraved in fine detail behind the portrait
• Guernsey coat of arms (three lions passant) in upper right
• Denomination box: £1 upper right
• Inscriptions: THE STATES OF GUERNSEY, ONE POUND, DANIEL DE LISLE BROCK / BAILIFF OF GUERNSEY 1762–1842, ROYAL COURT — ST PETER PORT 1840
• Printer imprint: DE LA RUE lower left

Back

• Colors: pale mint/aqua green background; dark green engraving for £1 sterling symbol and acanthus scrollwork; multicolor market scene center (gold/yellow building facade, colorful period figures); dark olive green State seal left; black serial number and text
• Elaborate £1 sterling symbol with acanthus leaf scrollwork, upper center
• Multicolor engraving of The Market, St Peter Port — a bustling Victorian street scene dated 1822, with market stalls, figures in period dress, and the market building facade
• Guernsey State seal in circular cartouche, left — VERITE SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE legend with three lions and laurel wreath
• Signature of B. Haines, States Treasurer, with serial number Y000893 (example shown)
• Inscriptions: THE STATES OF GUERNSEY, PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND THE SUM OF ONE POUND, BY AUTHORITY OF THE STATES

Other Characteristics

• Varieties:
  • P-52a — Signature: M. J. Brown (green seal)
  • P-52az — Signature: M. J. Brown, Replacement, Prefix Z
  • P-52b — Signature: D. P. Trestain (green seal, green market)
  • P-52bz — Signature: D. P. Trestain, Replacement, Prefix Z
  • P-52c — Signature: D. M. Clark
  • P-52cz — Signature: D. M. Clark, Replacement, Prefix Z
  • P-52d — Signature: B. Haines — this note
  • P-52dz — Signature: B. Haines, Replacement, Prefix Z
• Catalog numbers: P-52d; TBB B110d; Numista N#209965
• Watermark: Guernsey State seal
• Composition: Paper
• Size: 128 × 65 mm
• Issuing entity: Treasury and Resources Department, States of Guernsey
• Printer: De La Rue, London (1821–date)
• Demonetized: Yes — withdrawn from circulation following the series end in 2016
• Signatures: B. Haines, States Treasurer
• Currency: Guernsey Pound (decimalized, 1971–date); pegged 1:1 to pound sterling
• Official language: English (French historically co-official; Guernésiais spoken by a small minority)

About Guernsey

• Origin of name: From Old Norse Grunsey — likely meaning "Gruni's island" (after a Norse personal name) or possibly "green island"; the -ey suffix is the Norse word for island, shared by Jersey, Alderney, and Sark
• Capital: St Peter Port (pop. ~18,000 city; ~67,000 island total)
  • Origin of name: Named for Saint Peter; "Port" reflects its role as the island's principal harbor — one of the finest natural anchorages in the English Channel
• Population: ~67,000 (2021 census) — comparable to Greenfield, Wisconsin
• Area: 78 km² (30 mi²) — roughly the size of Washington, D.C.'s National Mall area; smaller than Manhattan
• GDP per capita (PPP): ~$52,000 — among the highest in the world, driven by finance and low taxation
• Main exports: Financial services, tourism, horticulture (tomatoes, flowers), light manufacturing
• Borders: No land borders; English Channel island ~50 km west of Normandy, France; ~120 km south of England
• Official/spoken language: English; Guernésiais (Norman French dialect) spoken by fewer than 2% of residents
• Ethnicities: Guernsey (local-born ~49%), British (~25%), Irish, Portuguese, and other European communities
• Memberships: British Crown dependency (not part of the UK or EU); associate member of the British–Irish Council (founding member, 1999); participates in some Council of Europe conventions; Common Travel Area with UK and Ireland
• Sovereignty:
  • Part of the Duchy of Normandy — William the Conqueror held Guernsey before 1066; after the Norman Conquest, the island remained loyal to the English Crown when Normandy was lost to France in 1204
  • English/British Crown dependency (1204–date) — self-governing with its own parliament (the States of Deliberation), legal system, and tax regime; the UK is responsible for defense and international relations
  • German occupation (1940–1945) — the only part of the British Isles occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II
  • Post-war recovery and financial center development (1945–date) — Guernsey developed into a leading offshore finance center from the 1960s onward

The Bailiff Who Built Modern Guernsey

Daniel De Lisle Brock served as Bailiff — the island's highest civil office — for an extraordinary 28 years (1821–1842), a tenure that transformed Guernsey from a smuggling backwater into a prosperous, law-abiding community. He reformed the legal system, modernized St Peter Port's harbor, and championed education at a time when the island's future was far from certain. The Royal Court building behind him on this note was the seat of his authority — and remains the center of Guernsey's legal life today.

A Market Scene Frozen in 1840

The reverse captures The Market, St Peter Port as it appeared in 1840 — a riot of color and commerce that De La Rue's engravers rendered with extraordinary precision. The covered market stalls, the Georgian arcade, the figures in bonnets and frock coats: this is Guernsey at the height of its Victorian confidence, a small island punching well above its weight in trade, horticulture, and Channel commerce. De La Rue — the world's oldest security printer, founded in London in 1821 — printed this note with the same craftsmanship they brought to banknotes for over 140 countries.

The Last Signature of a Classic Series

The P-52d is the final variety of Guernsey's beloved £1 paper note series, signed by States Treasurer B. Haines — making it the last chapter of a design that ran from 1991 to 2016. With 34% of Numista collectors reporting ownership of this variety (the most common of the four), it remains accessible — but as paper £1 notes disappear from circulation worldwide, the window to own a crisp UNC example narrows every year.

Own this piece of Channel Island history — a note that carries the face of Guernsey's greatest statesman, the bustle of its Victorian marketplace, and the craftsmanship of the world's most storied security printer.