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5 Rupees Commercial Bank of India, Bombay
| Issuer | Commercial Bank of India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1845-1865 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | 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 |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#NL |
| Obverse description | Ornate thick border with lettering running along its perimeter frames the note. A central vignette presents an allegorical female figure representing Commerce, rendered in a classical engraved style typical of mid-19th century British bank note production. The text of the promise to pay is inscribed in the body of the note below the vignette, with the denomination and bank name lettered in the border surround. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | COMMERCIAL BANK OF INDIA FIVE No BOMBAY THE COMMERCIAL BANK OF INDIA Promises to pay the bearer on Demand at the Bank`s office here, Five Rupees. Value Received. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. |
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| Comments |
The Commercial Bank of India was one of several agency houses operating out of Bombay in the mid-nineteenth century, a period when private banking in India functioned largely outside formal colonial oversight. These institutions issued their own notes against deposits and trade credit, with no central authority guaranteeing convertibility — a fragile arrangement that collapsed for many of them during the financial crises of the 1840s and 1860s.
Batho & Bingley operated under at least three successive trading names across the note's twenty-year issue window, which is why the printer credit varies by date. That variation alone can help narrow individual examples to a tighter issue range than the catalog span suggests.