Catalog
100 Rixdollars
| Issuer | Government of Ceylon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1809 |
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| Size | 181 x 110 mm |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress and intaglio print on plain paper. Vignette at upper left shows seated Britannia within an oval laurel wreath. The promise-to-pay text is rendered in copperplate script, with trilingual inscriptions in Sinhala, Tamil, and English; denomination repeated in bold letterpress at lower left. |
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| Obverse lettering | පතාග සියයයි நூறு இறையால COLOMBO 1st January 1809 The Government of Ceylon promise to pay to the Bearer on demand the Sum of ONE HUNDRED Rix Dollars in Copper Money at the Exchange of Forty Eight Stivers for One Rix Dollar on presenting this at the General Treasury. RIX DOLLARS One Hundred COLOMBO Extd & Entd. (Translation: One hundred rixdollars.) |
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| Comments |
Ceylon's Rixdollar was an inherited Dutch colonial currency that the British administration adopted after taking control of the island in 1796, initially out of practical necessity rather than policy preference. By 1809, the colonial government was still issuing notes denominated in this Dutch unit — an awkward holdover that would persist until sterling replaced it in 1828, at a fixed rate of 1s 6d per Rixdollar.
Gale & Butler, active in London during the early nineteenth century, produced engraved work for several colonial administrations. The 100 Rixdollar denomination was the highest in this government series, which made forgery a genuine concern — Ceylon's remoteness from London made plate security and paper authentication difficult to enforce in practice.