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5 Rupees Jaffna; Oriental Bank Corporation
| Issuer | Oriental Bank Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1875 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rupee (1871-1972) |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on white paper with a fine geometric border. The British Royal Arms flanked by lion and unicorn supporters occupies the top centre, with two circular "FIVE RUPEES" vignettes at upper left and right carrying Sinhala and Tamil legends respectively. The promise-to-pay text is rendered in a flowing script below the bank name. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain unprinted white paper; the obverse design shows through faintly as a ghost impression, confirming single-sided letterpress production. |
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| Comments |
The Oriental Bank Corporation's Jaffna branch notes occupy a peculiar niche in South Asian numismatic history. The OBC was a British overseas bank chartered under Royal Charter, and its Ceylon branches — Colombo and Jaffna — issued their own place-of-payment notes independently of one another. By 1875, the bank was already overextended across its Indian and Pacific operations, a structural weakness that would culminate in its collapse in 1884 when a severe drop in commodity prices triggered a run it could not survive.
Perkins, Bacon had long supplied security printing to colonial banking operations throughout the British Empire. Notes issued specifically payable at Jaffna are considerably scarcer than Colombo equivalents, reflecting lower commercial volume in the northern peninsula.