Catalog
5 Dollars
| Issuer | Oriental Bank Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1851 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1845-1939) |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress print on white paper. Royal British coat of arms flanked by lion and unicorn supporters at upper centre, above the issuing bank title and promise-to-pay text in formal copperplate-style typography. Accountant and Manager signature lines printed at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | FIVE DOLLARS INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER SINGAPORE THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their Office here FIVE DOLLARS Local currency for Value Received. By order of the Court of Directors Entd. Accountt. Manager. |
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| Comments |
The Oriental Bank Corporation — chartered in Bombay in 1842 and later re-chartered in London — was one of the major British colonial exchange banks operating across Asia, the Pacific, and parts of Africa. Its note-issuing activity in the early 1850s spanned multiple territories simultaneously, making attribution of any unsigned or undated branch copy genuinely difficult without corroborating ledger or stamp evidence.
The bank collapsed in 1884 after a run triggered by bad loans in Ceylon and Mauritius. Notes outstanding at that point were never redeemed.