100 Dollars Mauritius Commercial Bank

The Mauritius Commercial Bank was established in 1838, making it one of the oldest commercial banks in the Indian Ocean region. Its early private banknotes — of which this is one — predate the colonial currency standardization that would eventually bring the rupee into dominance on the island. The use of dollars rather than rupees reflects the transitional monetary environment of the period, when Spanish and Portuguese dollar-denominated trade currency still held practical weight in Indian Ocean commerce.

Private bank issues from Mauritius of this vintage are exceptionally rare in any surviving form. The MCB series from 1839–1841 is almost entirely absent from major auction records.