Catalog
10 Rupees Oriental Bank Corporation
| Issuer | Oriental Bank Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1864-1877 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Yes |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | රුපියල් දහය பத்துரூபாய் TEN RUPEES 10 INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER BADULLA, CEYLON 2nd April 1877 THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their Branch here, or at their Bank in Colombo TEN RUPEES Value received. By order of the Court of Directors, Entd. Accountt. Agent. (Translation: Ten Rupees.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Specimen - BADULLA, CEYLON 2nd April 1877 |
| Comments |
The Oriental Bank Corporation, chartered in Bombay in 1842, became one of the most expansive British overseas banks of the Victorian period — at its peak operating branches from Aden to Yokohama. Perkins, Bacon & Co. handled the note printing, the same London firm responsible for many colonial currency contracts and, famously, the world's first adhesive postage stamp.
The bank collapsed catastrophically in 1884, following bad debt exposure in Ceylon's failing coffee plantations. Notes from the 1864–1877 issue period predate the crisis by years, but surviving examples are uncommon — most were either redeemed or cancelled during the bank's final wind-down by the liquidators.