Catalog
100 Dollars
| Issuer | Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1875 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 100 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | $100 INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER PENANG THE CHARTERED BANK OF INDIA, AUSTRALIA & CHINA Promises to pay the Bearer on Demand at its OFFICE here One Hundred Dollars in Local Currency for Value received. BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF DIRECTORS SPECIMEN |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 100 ONE HUNDRED THE CHARTERED BANK OF INDIA AUSTRALIA AND CHINA SPECIMEN |
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| Comments |
The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China was granted its royal charter in 1853 and operated as one of the principal exchange banks across British Asia, competing directly with the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation on the major treaty-port routes. A $100 denomination in 1875 was a substantial instrument — this was wholesale commerce paper, not retail currency, circulating among merchants, trading houses, and agency firms rather than in daily market transactions.
W. Sprague & Co. produced security printing of considerable quality for colonial and chartered bank clients throughout this period. Surviving examples from this issue are exceptionally rare; the bank routinely cancelled and destroyed returned notes, and few branches outside the major offices had any reason to hold large-denomination stock in reserve.