Catalog
50 Rupees
| Issuer | Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London & China, Kandy |
|---|---|
| Year | 1870 |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in green and carries a central guilloche oval vignette with interlaced lathe-work bands, flanked on each side by a circular ornamental motif bearing the numeral 50. The text CHARTERED MERCANTILE and OF INDIA, LONDON & CHINA arcs across the upper and lower portions of the note respectively in mirror-image letterpress, visible through the paper as a back-printing design. The overall layout is spare and typographic, with the security underprint providing the primary decorative element. |
| Reverse lettering | CHARTERED MERCANTILE OF INDIA, LONDON & CHINA CEYLON BRANCH 50 50 |
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| Comments |
The Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London and China was among the earliest foreign exchange banks operating in Ceylon, and its Kandy branch was a relatively minor outpost compared to the Colombo operation. Notes issued specifically for Kandy are considerably scarcer than those from the principal branch, reflecting lower issue volumes rather than any unusual redemption event.
Pick 129C places this within a small family of private bank issues that predate the colonial government's eventual consolidation of note-issuing authority in Ceylon. By the 1870s, the Chartered Mercantile Bank was already facing competitive pressure from the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, and would be fully absorbed into that institution by 1893.