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50 Cents Ragama; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Prisoners of War Camp, Ragama (British Military) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901 |
| Type | Vouchers |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress on tan underprint with fine dot guilloche pattern. The British Royal coat of arms appears as a vignette at upper centre, flanked by serial numbers at left and right. The denomination "FIFTY CENTS" is set within an ornate scrollwork frame at centre, with the text of restrictions printed below and a manuscript signature above the title "Captain, Camp Commandant." |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse is unprinted, showing only the plain paper with show-through impressions from the obverse text and underprint visible. |
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| Comments |
Ragama, north of Colombo in Ceylon, held Boer prisoners captured during the South African War — one of several camps the British established outside South Africa itself to reduce escape risk and ease the pressure on local facilities. This 50 Cents piece is among the scrip denominations issued internally at Ragama to allow prisoners to make small purchases at the camp canteen, a system the British used consistently across their PoW network to maintain order and avoid circulating standard colonial currency within the wire.
Ceylon-issued Boer PoW camp money is genuinely uncommon. Most scrip was redeemed or destroyed at repatriation in 1902.