The Oriental Bank Corporation
1864-1869 - Colombo

Denomination : 5 Rupees Note Color : Light Blue English : Five Rupees Sinhala : රුපියල්පහයි Thamil : ஐந்துரூபாய் Size : 144 x 114 mm Date : 15th March 1866 Status : Signed
	Click to see image of signed note. Pick-lk S141 Click again to see watermark
Denomination : 10 Rupees Note Color : Black English : Ten Rupees Sinhala : රුපියල්දහයයි Thamil : பத்துரூபாய் Size : 188 x 115 mm Date :  15th Jany 1864 Status : Specimen
	Click to see Specimen of 15th March 1866 Pick-lk S143

Front : A decorated rectangular wide border with no text. Within border on top Center, below arced legend INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER crowned British Royal Coat of arms within belt with legend HONO SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE with couchant lion crowned facing arms on left and couchant unicorn chained with garter looking back away from arms on right. Below in scroll DIEU ET MON DROIT
On either side alpha-numeric Denomination with unit below in decorate, with above රුපියල් Denomination in Sinhala on left and Denomination ரூபாய் in Thamil on right, with Serial No below. Centered below COLOMBO, CEYLON Date as Day Month Year.
Within shaded rectangle
THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION Promises to pay Bearer on demand at their Office here DENOMINATION RUPEES or the equivalent in the Currency of the Island, Value received
Below By Order of the Court of Directors above in one line
Ent^d _____ Account^t ______ Manager
In bottom left just inside border in small script Perkins, Bacon & C^o, London. Patent Hardened Steel Plate..
Back : Spirographic design.
Watermark : ORIENTAL BANK in downward arc above CORPORATION in line below darker than paper
Printed : Perkins Bacon & C^o, London.
Size : Estimated assuming frame is same as circulated Rs 5 note measured from the Colombo National Museum Collection, and assuming size was adopted in inches. For Rs 10 denominations the same Royal Charter Engraving was assumed to be of same size.

Note that these currency notes have been issued in Rupees when Pounds Sterling was legal and therefore has the phrase or the equivalent in the Currency of the Island, which is removed from the currency notes issued after monetary reform in 1869.

Text and Images from Spink Auction listings Rs 5 and Rs 10.
Images estimated to be 79(Rs5) and 64(Rs10) dpi and displayed at 50 dpi.

Known Denomination, Date and Serial Numbers

1864-1869 Colombo -     Rs   5  1864-01-15
                        Rs   5  1866-03-15   C95553
                        Rs  10  1862-11-15   C67305 
(BMC)
                        Rs  10  1864-01-15
                        Rs  10  1866-03-15