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50 Rupees
| Issuer | Oriental Bank Corporation, Galle |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881-1884 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Rupees |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | GALLE THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their Branch here or at their Bank in Colombo FIFTY RUPEES Value received By order of the Court of Directors LONDON Agent CEYLON FIFTY 50 |
| Reverse description | Printed in muted red-brown and green tones, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate guilloche underprint with two large mirrored portrait vignettes of a classical female head at centre, facing inward symmetrically. Corner pieces carry the denomination numeral '50' in each quadrant, two of which are inverted for orientation balance. Sinhala and Tamil denomination inscriptions appear in horizontal cartouches flanking the central vignettes, and a further denomination inscription in both scripts is visible in the lower centre area. |
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| Comments |
The Oriental Bank Corporation was a London-chartered bank operating across British colonial Asia, and its Ceylon branch notes — issued from Galle, then still the island's principal commercial port — represent one of the more short-lived colonial series in South Asian numismatics. The parent bank collapsed spectacularly in May 1884, caught by bad loans in Mauritius and a run on deposits across multiple branches simultaneously. Notes outstanding at that date became immediately worthless in commercial terms, though the Crown eventually managed a partial settlement for creditors.
Perkins Bacon's intaglio work on this series is technically accomplished, as expected from a firm that had been producing security printing since the 1820s. The 1884 failure cut the series short — four years of issue at most, likely fewer for the higher denominations.