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5 Rupees
| Issuer | Oriental Bank Corporation, Badulla |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881-1884 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rupee (1862-1967) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries the heading 'BADULA' at top centre above the issuer's title 'THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION' in bold letterpress, with a small portrait vignette of a female figure at the lower right corner. The four corners each bear a numeral '5' within circular guilloche cartouches, and the body of the note is filled with manuscript and printed promise text. The note survives in heavily deteriorated condition, with significant paper loss, yet the principal design elements and inscriptions remain partially legible. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BADULA THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION BADULLA COLON 5 |
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| Comments |
The Oriental Bank Corporation collapsed in May 1884 — one of the most spectacular bank failures in British colonial Asia, triggered by bad loans to Indian indigo and Ceylon coffee planters whose crops had been devastated by disease and falling commodity prices. Notes issued from the Badulla branch in the early 1880s were circulating right up to the moment the bank closed its doors, leaving holders with worthless paper almost overnight.
Badulla served the Uva Province coffee district, putting these notes at the commercial heart of Ceylon's plantation economy during its terminal decline. The branch designation matters: Oriental Bank Corporation notes are collected by issuing office, and Badulla examples are considerably scarcer than those from Colombo or Kandy.