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The Oriental Bank Corporation was a British overseas bank chartered in 1851 and operating across India, Ceylon, and the Far East — until it collapsed spectacularly in May 1884, one of the most dramatic bank failures of the Victorian era. The Jaffna branch was among its Ceylon operations, and notes issued from that office in the early 1880s were still in local circulation when the insolvency struck, leaving holders without recourse.

The failure was triggered by bad loans in Mauritius and a collapse of confidence that spread faster than the bank's ability to manage it. Notes from this terminal period of issue are genuinely uncommon survivors.