Catalog
5 Dollars
| Issuer | The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1890-1893 (1890-1903) |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress print on white paper with a yellow-orange guilloche underprint reading "FIVE" across the centre. The Royal coat of arms with lion and unicorn supporters is engraved at upper centre, surmounted by the inscription "INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER", with denomination numerals "$5" in ornate cartouches at upper left and right. The border incorporates multilingual text in Chinese, Jawi, and Tamil scripts, with "SINGAPORE" in a decorative panel at the lower centre. |
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| Obverse lettering | $5 INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER SINGAPORE THE CHARTERED BANK OF INDIA, AUSTRALIA & CHINA, Promises to pay the Bearer on Demand at its OFFICE here FIVE DOLLARS or the equivalent in the Currency of the Island. Value received. BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF DIRECTORS. Entd. ACCT MANAGER SPECIMEN |
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| Comments |
The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1853 and operated as one of the principal British exchange banks across Asia, handling trade finance at a time when sterling bills on London underpinned almost all commerce between East and West. By the 1890s, the Hong Kong dollar had been effectively pegged to silver, and the bank's note-issuing operations in the colony were directly exposed to the volatility of the silver market — when silver depreciated sharply through the 1890s, the real value of circulating notes fell with it.
The 1890–1893 dating range places this note in the period just before the bank's charter was renewed in 1894 under revised terms.