Catalog
10 Shillings / 5 Rupees
| Issuer | Asiatic Banking Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1865-1866 |
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| Currency | Pound (1828-1869) |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress on green guilloche underprint; denomination numerals in engraved roundels at each corner reading "10 SHILLINGS" and "5 RUPEES" alternately. Central oval vignette carries the Asiatic Banking Corporation seal, flanked by two "TEN SHILLINGS" cartouches and duplicate serial numbers. Trilingual (Sinhala, Tamil, English) text fills the borders; printer's imprint of Smith, Elder & Co. at foot. |
|---|---|
| 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 in COLOMBO, in the Currency of the Island TEN SHILLINGS Value received COLOMBO By order of the Court of Directors Acct. Manager පත්තුවයි பத்து சிலிங் පහයි රුපියල් ஐந்து ரூபாய் யேசியதிக் பேங்கிங் கோர்ப்பொறேஷன் SMITH, ELDER & Co. ENGRAVERS, LONDON. (Translation: Asiatic Banking Corporation. Five shillings. Ten rupees.) |
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| Comments |
The Asiatic Banking Corporation was incorporated in London in 1863 with ambitions across the Indian Ocean trade routes, operating branches from Mauritius to Ceylon. It collapsed in 1866 — one of several British overseas banks wiped out by the credit crisis that followed the failure of Overend, Gurney & Co. in May of that year. This note was issued and rendered worthless within roughly a three-year window.
Smith, Elder & Co. was primarily a publisher and bookseller, not a dedicated security printer — their involvement here reflects how loosely the banknote printing trade was organized in mid-Victorian London before specialist firms consolidated the market.