Catalog
100 Dollars
| Issuer | Union Bank of Calcutta, Singapore Branch |
|---|---|
| Year | 1840-1849 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Engraved note with a thick ornamental border enclosing the text field; numeral and denomination value in each corner, with vertical side panels reading ONE HUNDRED SPANISH DOLLARS in letterpress. Central text area carries a manuscript-style promise-to-pay legend above signature lines for Cashier and Agent. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 100 SINGAPORE BRANCH OF THE UNION BANK OF CALCUTTA Promise to pay the Bearer on demand the sum of ONE HUNDRED SPANISH DOLLARS 184_ Singapore For the TRUSTEES of the UNION BANK Cashier Entd. Agent ONE HUNDRED SPANISH DOLLARS PAYABLE AT SINGAPORE |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Union Bank of Calcutta operated in Singapore under the Presidency banking framework, one of several British-chartered institutions competing for the Straits trade business during the 1840s. Its Singapore branch issued notes locally denominated in dollars — the Spanish and later Mexican dollar being the dominant trade currency of the port — rather than in rupees, a deliberate concession to the commercial realities of a market that ran on Chinese, Malay, and European exchange simultaneously.
Smith, Elder & Co. were primarily a London publishing house that maintained a sideline in financial printing — an unusual combination that reflects how undifferentiated security printing was as a specialist trade before firms like Perkins Bacon and De La Rue consolidated the field later in the century.