Catalog
10 Rupees
| Issuer | Oriental Bank Corporation, Badulla |
|---|---|
| Year | 1851-1880 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black on white paper with a central vignette of the Royal Arms supported by a lion and unicorn, surmounted by a crown, with the inscription INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER arching above. Oval guilloche panels at left and right each bear the denomination TEN / 10 / RUPEES, with trilingual legends in English, Sinhalese, and Tamil across the top. The body of the note carries a letterpress promise-to-pay text reading THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION / Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their Branch here or at their Bank in Colombo TEN RUPEES or the equivalent in the Currency of this Island Value received / By order of the Court of Directors, with lines for Ent'd, Account, and Agent, and the place and date line BADULLA, CEYLON. |
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| Obverse lettering | TEN RUPEES INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their Branch here or at their Bank in Colombo TEN RUPEES or the equivalent in the Currency of this Island Value received By order of the Court of Directors BADULLA, CEYLON Ent'd Account Agent SPECIMEN |
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The Oriental Bank Corporation was a British-chartered bank operating across Asia and Africa — one of the genuine exchange banks of the imperial system, not a colonial government issuer. Its Ceylon branches, including Badulla, had full note-issuing authority, which made private bank notes from upcountry offices like this one a practical necessity in plantation districts where government currency rarely circulated in adequate volume.
The Oriental Bank collapsed in 1884, one of the more spectacular banking failures of the Victorian period. Notes outstanding at the time of failure were largely unredeemed. Badullah-branch survivors are genuinely rare for that reason.