Catalog
1/4 Rupee
| Issuer | Clunies-Ross Family (Private Issue) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1902 |
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| Currency | Rupee (1878-1984) |
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| Obverse description | This small-format private plantation issue bears the fractional denomination in printed text, with the Clunies-Ross coat of arms serving as the central vignette. The manuscript signature of George Clunies-Ross appears at the lower portion of the note, with the date of issue inscribed to the left. |
|---|---|
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| Signature(s) | George Clunies-Ross |
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| Comments |
The Clunies-Ross family ran the Cocos (Keeling) Islands as a private fiefdom from the mid-nineteenth century, and their scrip issues were the only currency accepted on the islands — redeemable solely at the family's own store. Workers, almost entirely Malay labourers brought in under indenture, had no practical means to convert or spend the tokens elsewhere. The system ensured economic captivity was built directly into the monetary structure.
By 1902, paper denominations had supplemented the earlier plastic and ivory token issues. George Clunies-Ross signed personally, which on an island of a few hundred people made the note something closer to a promissory letter than a banknote in any conventional sense.