10 Dollars Mauritius Commercial Bank

The Mauritius Commercial Bank was established in 1838, making this among the earliest notes the institution ever produced. Private commercial banknote issuance was common across British colonial territories in this period, and Mauritius — still transitioning economically after the abolition of slavery in 1835 and the subsequent "apprenticeship" period — was no exception. The colony's sugar economy was cash-hungry, and the MCB filled a void the colonial government hadn't.

The bank retained its right to issue notes until 1967, an unusually long run. Notes from this 1839–1843 window are among the rarest of the series — institutional survival records from this early period are fragmentary at best.