5 Pounds Asiatic Banking Corporation

The Asiatic Banking Corporation was incorporated in London in 1863 with ambitions across India, China, and the Straits Settlements. It lasted barely a decade — the bank collapsed in 1866 during the catastrophic London credit crisis that also brought down Overend, Gurney & Co., leaving noteholders and depositors badly exposed across multiple Asian markets simultaneously.

Smith, Elder & Co. was primarily a publishing house — the firm that brought out Thackeray and Charlotte Brontë — which also ran a small banknote and commercial printing operation during this period. An unusual provenance for a colonial banking instrument.