Catalog
10 Pounds Asiatic Banking Corporation
| Issuer | Asiatic Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1865 |
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| Currency | Pound (1828-1869) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | යෙසියාතික්බැන්කිඬ්කොර්පොරේෂන් 10 ASIATIC BANKING CORPORATION TEN POUNDS THE ASIATIC BANKING CORPORATION promise to pay the Bearer on Demand at their Branch here or at their Bank in Colombo TEN POUNDS in the Cur- rency of the Island, value received. KANDY, CEYLON By order of the Court of Directors. Entd Manager රුපියල්සියයයි පවඬ්දහයයි நூறுரூபாய் பத்துபவுண்ட் யெசியதிக் பெங்கிங்கொர்ப்பொறேஷன் (Translation: Asiatic Banking Corporation. Ten pounds. One hundred rupees. Asiatic Banking Corporation.) |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Asiatic Banking Corporation was chartered in London in 1863 and collapsed in 1866 — one of several British overseas banks wiped out by the financial panic triggered by the failure of Overend, Gurney & Co. This note was issued and became worthless within a three-year window. The bank never recovered or reorganized, so no successor institution redeemed outstanding notes; holders were simply left with paper.
Smith, Elder & Co. was primarily known as a publishing house — they printed Charlotte Brontë and Thackeray — not a specialist banknote printer. Their involvement here reflects how thin the market for secure note printing was outside the established firms in the early 1860s.