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1 Rupee Diyatalawa; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Prisoners of War Camp, Diyatalawa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Rupee |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Re. 1. GOOD FOR ONE RUPEE Current only within the Prisoners' Enclosure and payable at the Office of the Officer in charge of Prisoners of War, Diyatalawa. |
| Reverse description | Essentially blank, with faint show-through of the obverse letterpress text visible on the aged paper. A red ink mark is present near the centre, consistent with a cancellation or administrative stamp applied during use. |
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| Comments |
Diyatalawa, in the hill country of Ceylon, held Boer prisoners captured during the South African War — at its peak, several thousand men were interned there. The British Army established an internal scrip system to allow basic canteen transactions without real currency passing through the camp, which is the only reason these notes exist at all. They circulate in a closed economy of captivity, not commerce.
Campbell 4802 is among the scarcer denominations from this camp. Prisoner-of-war scrip of this period survives poorly — subject to destruction upon repatriation, confiscation, or simple loss — and Diyatalawa material is substantially less common than the parallel Deadwood Camp issues from St. Helena.