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5 Rupees Oriental Bank Corporation
| Issuer | Oriental Bank Corporation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881-1883 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on red guilloche underprint; allegorical enthroned woman flanked by lions at left, bust of Mercury with caduceus at right, British royal coat of arms at upper centre. Bilingual promise-to-pay text in English, Sinhala, and Tamil with Colombo date and director's signature lines below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 5 COLOMBO THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER රුපියල් පහයි ஐந்து ரூபாய் Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their Office here FIVE RUPEES value received. COLOMBO 1st January 1883. By Order of the Court of Directors ENTD. ACCOUNTT. MANAGER. CEYLON BRADBURY WILLKINSON & CO ENGRAVERS LONDON (Translation: Five rupees.) |
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| Comments |
The Oriental Bank Corporation collapsed in May 1884, making notes from the 1881–1883 series among the final issues before one of the most spectacular banking failures in British colonial history. The bank had operated across India, Ceylon, China, and the Pacific for decades, but a combination of bad agricultural loans in Ceylon and a collapse in coffee prices brought it down. London creditors were paid out; depositors in the colonies fared considerably worse.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the series in London. Notes that survived the liquidation largely did so because they were never presented for payment — which also means surviving examples were never honored.