5 Rupees

The Oriental Bank Corporation was a British overseas bank chartered in 1851, operating across India, Ceylon, China, and the Straits Settlements before its spectacular collapse in 1884. This note predates that failure by nearly two decades, issued from the Colombo branch during the height of the bank's regional influence. When the OBC did fail, noteholders were left as unsecured creditors — recovery was partial at best, and the collapse triggered tightening of colonial banking regulations across the region.

Local printing in Colombo rather than London is unusual for private colonial bank issues of this period, and raises questions about the security features available to the press used.