500 Dollars Mauritius Commercial Bank

The Mauritius Commercial Bank, founded in 1838, was the island's first commercial bank — this 1839 note places it within the institution's first full year of operation. Private banknote issue by commercial banks in Mauritius was permitted under early British colonial banking ordinances, and the MCB held that privilege for decades before the government progressively tightened control over currency issuance.

P#S129 is catalogued in the Specialized volume, reflecting its status as a private commercial issue rather than a government or central bank obligation. Surviving examples from this period are exceptionally rare; paper currency in 19th-century Mauritius suffered badly from the tropical climate.