Catalog
5 Rupees - Elizabeth II
| Issuer | Government of Mauritius |
|---|---|
| Year | 1954 |
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| Currency | Rupee (1835-date) |
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| Obverse description | At right, an oval guilloche vignette encloses a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II wearing a tiara and pearl necklace. The centre bears multilingual legal tender text in English, Tamil, Hindi, and Arabic scripts, with the denomination FIVE RUPEES in large letterpress below. At lower left, an intaglio vignette of a mountain landscape completes the composition, above the issuing authority inscription OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF CURRENCY, PORT LOUIS. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE GOVERNMENT OF MAURITIUS THESE NOTES ARE LEGAL TENDER FOR THE PAYMENT OF ANY AMOUNT FIVE RUPEES OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF CURRENCY PORT LOUIS Commissioners of Currency |
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| Comments |
The Government of Mauritius — rather than the colony's commercial banks — issued this series directly, reflecting the Crown Colony structure still firmly in place in 1954. Bradbury Wilkinson produced colonial currency for a wide range of British territories during this period, and their New Malden facility handled the bulk of that output; the engraving quality on these Mauritian issues is notably fine even by their standards.
Pick 27 was superseded relatively quickly as Mauritius moved toward the Bank of Mauritius framework ahead of independence in 1968, limiting the active circulation window for the series.