Catalog
10 Shillings / 5 Rupees
| Issuer | Asiatic Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1822-1865 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 10 SHILLINGS 5 RUPEES ඒසියාටික් බැංකු කෝපෝරේෂන් ASIATIC BANKING CORPORATION TEN SHILLINGS THE ASIATIC BANKING CORPORATION promise to pay the Bearer on Demand at their Branch here or at their Bank in COLOMBO, in the Currency of the Island TEN SHILLINGS Value received KANDY, CEYLON By order of the Court of Directors Manager පත්තුවයි பத்து சிலிங் පහයි රුපියල් ஐந்து ரூபாய் யேசியதிக் பேங்கிங் கோர்ப்பொறேஷன் SMITH, ELDER & Co. ENGRAVERS, LONDON. (Translation: Asiatic Banking Corporation. Ten shillings. Five rupees.) |
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| Reverse lettering | 10 SHILLINGS 5 RUPEES පත්තුවයි பத்து சிலிங் පහයි රුපියල් ஐந்து ரூபாய் (Translation: Ten shillings. Five rupees.) |
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| Comments |
The Asiatic Banking Corporation was a short-lived British overseas bank operating primarily in India and the Far East, and this dual-denomination note — payable in both shillings and rupees — reflects the practical messiness of sterling-rupee exchange across colonial trade routes where neither currency fully dominated local commerce. Smith, Elder & Co. are better remembered today as publishers — they handled Thackeray, Charlotte Brontë, and later Conan Doyle — but maintained a parallel printing operation that produced banknotes and commercial documents throughout the mid-nineteenth century.
The date range of over four decades suggests multiple issue series rather than continuous uninterrupted production.