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200 Dollars Mauritius Commercial Bank
| Issuer | Mauritius Commercial Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1839 |
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| Currency | Pound (1820-1877) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL BANK PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND THE SUM OF TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS FORTY POUNDS STERLING COLONIAL CURRENCY VALUE RECEIVED FOR THE MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL BANKING COMPANY |
| Reverse description | Unprinted reverse with show-through of obverse text and vignette visible through the paper stock; manuscript endorsement notations and an oval handstamp appear at lower right, with no printed design elements present on this side. |
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| Comments |
The Mauritius Commercial Bank, founded in 1838, was the island's first private commercial bank and began issuing its own notes almost immediately. This 1839 note predates the establishment of any central banking authority on the island — the MCB operated with considerable autonomy in those early years, filling a vacuum left by the departure of earlier colonial monetary arrangements.
Private bank issues from Mauritius at this period are exceptionally rare survivors. The tropical climate was hard on paper, and most notes from the MCB's earliest series were either redeemed and destroyed or simply deteriorated in circulation.