Catalog
2 Pounds
| Issuer | General Treasury of Ceylon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1850 |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black on cream paper and carries the bold country name CEYLON across the upper centre, flanked by numeral 2 counters in oval cartouches at upper left and right. A central vignette presents a classical allegorical female figure seated beside a palm tree with an ox or bull at her side, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. The bearer clause and denomination are set in letterpress script reading 'The Bearer hereof is entitled to receive on demand TWO POUNDS at the GENERAL TREASURY in the Currency of this Island, at COLOMBO,' with trilingual legends in Sinhala and Tamil script above and below the English text. |
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| Obverse lettering | CEYLON The Bearer hereof is entitled to receive on demand TWO POUNDS at the GENERAL TREASURY in the Currency of this Island, at COLOMBO TWO Ent° & Ent° |
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| Comments |
The General Treasury of Ceylon issuing its own paper money rather than relying on private bank notes was itself a policy choice — one driven by the persistent instability of the colonial banking sector in the mid-nineteenth century. The 1850 issue predates the establishment of more formal currency arrangements on the island and reflects a period when the colonial administration took direct control of paper circulation.
Local printing in Colombo, rather than commissioning a British security printer, was unusual for the period and likely a practical concession to logistics. It also means production quality and consistency varied in ways that metropolitan-printed colonial issues did not.