Catalog
50 Rupees
| Issuer | Government of Mauritius |
|---|---|
| Year | 1907-1920 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The colonial coat of arms is positioned at upper centre, flanked on either side by serial number panels. The issuer title arches across the upper portion in bold letterpress, bisected by the arms vignette. A central guilloche medallion carries the numeral '50', with the promise-to-pay text in italic script running across the midfield; a decorative cartouche at lower left bears the denomination 'Rs 50' in interlaced numerals. Multi-script denomination text in Tamil and Hindi appears at upper right, and two manuscript signatures with their titles occupy the lower register. |
|---|---|
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| Variants | P#18a - 1907 P#18b - 1920 |
| Comments |
The Government of Mauritius issued currency directly — not through a central bank — well into the twentieth century, a colonial arrangement that kept note-issuing authority in the hands of the civil administration rather than any banking institution. This series spans the years when Mauritius was navigating sugar price volatility and the disruptions of the First World War, both of which strained the island's trade balances and increased demand for higher-denomination notes in commercial transactions.
Pick 18 is among the scarcer government issues of this period. Surviving examples in any condition are infrequently encountered at auction.