Catalog
500 Dollars
| Issuer | North Western Bank of India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1856 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Yes |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress print on plain paper. Central vignette of a standing allegorical female figure with anchor at upper centre, accompanied by a sailing ship. Denomination numeral $500 appears in circular panels at left and right, with full bank title and statutory inscription in letterpress text across the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Reverse is blank, with faint ink bleed-through visible from the printed obverse. |
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| Comments |
The North Western Bank of India was a short-lived joint-stock venture incorporated in the mid-1850s to service the commercial corridor between Calcutta and Lahore. It collapsed before establishing any meaningful branch network, which makes issued notes — particularly high denominations — extraordinarily rare survivors. A $500 face value in 1856 India suggests this note was intended for interbank settlement or large mercantile transactions, not retail use.
Perkins, Bacon & Petch were the dominant security printers of the period, their steel intaglio process considered the best available deterrent against forgery. The bank failed before the 1857 Rebellion reshaped the entire framework of colonial banking in the subcontinent.