Great Britain - Operation Bernhard - Nazi Counterfeit Bank of England 10 Pounds, Dated 17 July 1935 - K.O. Peppiatt ...

Great Britain - Operation Bernhard - Nazi Counterfeit Bank of England 10 Pounds, Dated 17 July 1935 - K.O. Peppiatt - World War II Counterfeit Bank of England 10 Pounds note produced by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Bernhard during World War II. The counterfeits were manufactured at Sachsenhausen concentration camp by prisoners, including Jewish prisoners selected for their expertise in engraving, printing, graphics and banking, with the objective of producing highly convincing imitations of British currency. The Bank of England records that £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes were successfully counterfeited and that the operation reused serial numbers from genuine notes after failing to decipher the Bank's numbering system. The present piece imitates a Bank of England 10 Pounds note from the period of Chief Cashier Kenneth O. Peppiatt and is dated: "London 17 July 1935" Serial No.: "K/151 48028" Obverse: Ornate "Bank of England" heading above, with seated Britannia within a crowned ornamental vignette at upper left. The central promise reads: "I PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND THE SUM OF TEN POUNDS" Below is the reproduced signature of K.O. Peppiatt as Chief Cashier. Reverse: Unprinted, characteristic of the Bank of England white notes of this period. The Bank of England describes the genuine notes copied by the counterfeiters as having black printing on only one side of pale cotton-rag paper, with a small Britannia vignette at upper left. The note is heavily circulated, with numerous folds, staining, tears, edge damage and areas of paper loss, consistent with the images. Operation Bernhard counterfeits are now collected as historical artifacts of World War II and represent one of Nazi Germany's most sophisticated currency-counterfeiting operations. Peppiatt 10 Pounds examples are documented in museum collections and professional numismatic catalogues as Operation Bernhard counterfeits.