Catalog
50 Dollars Mauritius Commercial Bank
| Issuer | Mauritius Commercial Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1849 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Central oval vignette of a busy harbour scene with sailing vessels and warehouse buildings along the waterfront, flanked by letterpress denomination panels reading £50 at upper left and upper right beneath the arched issuer's name. The promise-to-pay legend and denomination FIFTY DOLLARS / TEN POUNDS STERLING are set in large display type below the vignette, with a bold numeral 50 panel at the foot of the note and manuscript date, serial number, and two manuscript signatures of the director and cashier. Two oval CANCELLED handstamps are applied at lower left and lower right on the face of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse on aged paper stock, bearing fold lines and scattered foxing consistent with the note's age and handling history. |
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| Comments |
The Mauritius Commercial Bank was founded in 1838, making it one of the oldest commercial banks in the African and Indian Ocean region. By the late 1840s it was issuing its own notes under colonial banking arrangements that permitted private note issue — a privilege that would eventually be curtailed as imperial monetary policy tightened across British territories in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
P#S126 carries the "S" prefix in Pick, meaning it is catalogued as a local or private issue rather than a central government emission. Surviving examples from 1849 are exceptionally rare; paper of this period in the humid Indian Ocean climate deteriorated quickly, and redemption or destruction after the bank transitioned away from private note issuance removed most from circulation permanently.