Catalog
50 Pounds
| Issuer | Bank of Ceylon, Colombo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1845 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Pounds |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries the bank title "Bank of Ceylon" in ornate script across the top centre, flanked by oval cartouches bearing the denomination numeral "50" in each upper corner with bilingual inscriptions in English and Sinhala. To the left, a circular vignette presents a classical allegorical figure of Britannia seated with a trident, accompanied by a lion, enclosed within an engine-turned border. The central text panel, printed in letterpress, contains the bearer promise clause in English with interlinear Sinhala script, the Royal coat of arms with lion and unicorn supporters above, and a large guilloche underprint reading "FIFTY" across the body of the note; a rectangular panel at lower left repeats the denomination in English and Sinhala. The word "SPECIMEN" appears at lower right, with manuscript spaces for Director and Manager signatures. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Bank of Ceylon COLOMBO THE BEARER hereof will receive FIFTY POUNDS on Demand at the Bank of Ceylon in the Currency of this Island. COLOMBO For the DIRECTORS & COMPANY. FIFTY POUNDS SPECIMEN. Director. Manager. Account! Ext & Ent! པའི་བཀའ་ཤོག པའི་བཀའ་ཤོག උමඹතු පවුන්ඩ |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Ceylon was established by Royal Charter in 1841, making this 1845 note among the earliest issues from an institution barely four years old. Ceylon at this date was a Crown Colony, and the bank operated under British oversight — its notes competed for acceptance against hundis, Spanish dollars, and the residual currency of earlier colonial administrations. A fifty-pound denomination would have been a substantial commercial instrument, moving between merchants and planters rather than passing through ordinary retail trade.
P#115 is exceptionally rare. Surviving examples from the Bank of Ceylon's 1840s issues number in the single digits across known collections.