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5 Rupees
| Issuer | Government of Ceylon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1929-1939 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rupee (1871-1972) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black and brown intaglio print on green, orange and lilac multicolour underprint. The note may present either a perforated or straight left edge. Denomination and issuer inscriptions are arranged across the face in letterpress. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green, the reverse is dominated by a central oval vignette of a Ceylon elephant standing amid tall palm trees with mountains in the background, enclosed within an elaborate cartouche of guilloche scrollwork and floral ornaments that extends to all four corners of the note. |
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| Comments |
Ceylon's currency administration sat in an unusual position during this period — the island operated under a Currency Board arrangement rather than a central bank, meaning note issuance was mechanically tied to sterling reserves held in London. De La Rue supplied the printed sheets, which were then controlled through the Currency Board in Colombo, not a conventional banking institution. The system was designed to prevent discretionary money creation entirely.
The P#23 series ran across a decade with minimal design revision, which makes date-specific attribution reliant on the printed year rather than any observable change in the notes themselves. De La Rue's intaglio work from this period is generally fine, but nothing about this particular issue is technically exceptional within the firm's broader colonial output.