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5 Rupees
| Issuer | Oriental Bank Corporation, Haldamulle |
|---|---|
| Year | 1870-1880 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rupee (1862-1967) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | FIVE RUPEES INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER HALDAMULLE, CEYLON THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their Branch here, or at their Bank in Colombo FIVE RUPEES Value received By order of the Court of Directors Ent'd Account Agent |
| Reverse description | No reverse image available; the reverse of this issue is understood to be plain or bears only a simple border, consistent with colonial-era private bank notes of this type from Ceylon. |
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| Comments |
The Oriental Bank Corporation was one of the most aggressive of the nineteenth-century British overseas banks, with operations stretching from Mauritius to Japan. Its Ceylon branches issued notes denominated in rupees for local circulation, but the bank's collapse in May 1884 was sudden and total — it was placed into liquidation after a cascade of bad loans in India and a run on deposits that its capital base could not survive. Any notes that remained outstanding at that point became worthless.
Haldamulle was a minor plantation district, which makes this issuing location unusual within the series. Most surviving OBC Ceylon notes bear Colombo or Kandy as the place of payment.