Catalog
2 Rix Dollars
| Issuer | Government of Ceylon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1826 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Uniface note dated 1.11.1826, with a vignette of Britannia seated with shield and trident at upper left, enclosed in an oval frame. The text body carries the promise to pay in copper money at the exchange of forty-eight stivers per Rix Dollar, redeemable at the General Treasury. Inscriptions appear in English, Sinhala, and Tamil. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | The Government of Ceylon promises to pay to the Bearer on demand the Sum of Two Rix Dollars in Copper Money at the Exchange of Forty Eight Stivers for One Rix Dollar on presenting this at the General Treasury / Colombo |
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| Comments |
Ceylon's rix dollar was already a currency in terminal decline when this note was printed. The Dutch had introduced the unit during their occupation, and the British inherited it along with the island in 1796 — but never fully committed to it. By the late 1820s, sterling was being pushed as the administrative standard, and the rix dollar was officially abolished in 1828, just two years after this note's issue date.
Local printing in Colombo rather than in London was unusual for colonial paper money of this period, and it shows — early Ceylon government notes are notoriously irregular in production quality, with significant variation in manuscript elements between surviving specimens.