The Oriental Bank Corporation
1864-1869 - Kandy

Denomination : 5 Rupees Note Color : Gray English : Five Rupees Sinhala : රුපියල්පහයි Thamil : ஐந்துரூபாய் Size : 149 x 114 mm Date : 15th March 1866 Status : Signed
	Click to see image of signed note. Pick-lk Unlisted
Denomination : 10 Rupees Note Color : Gray English : Ten Rupees Sinhala : රුපියල්දහයයි Thamil : பத்துரூபாய் Size : 184 x 116 mm Date : 15th March 1866 Status : Specimen
Pick-lk Unlisted

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 KANDY, CEYLON with Date as Day Month Year.
Within shaded rectangle
THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION Promises to pay Bearer on demand at their Branch here, or at their Bank in Colombo 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 (need to confirm)
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. On Rs10 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 73(Rs5) and 69(Rs10) dpi and displayed at 50 dpi.

Known Denomination, Date and Serial Numbers

1864-1869 Kandy -       Rs   5  1866-03-15   K101095
                        Rs  10  1866-03-15

If you know of a Rs 5 or Rs 10 note issued by Oriental Bank Corporation in Kandy with this logo, and printed date before 1870 unrecorded above, Please contact kavan @ gmail.com with an image. Thank You

The Proof 1866-03-15 Rs 10 note has the printer name Perkins Bacon & Petch, London which was changed soon after Petch died in 1852. Its appearance on this note may indicate that they were reusing most of the decorative art on the Note, replacing the Bank Branch, Date, and even legality statement.
If you have any dated Ceylon Oriental Bank Corporation notes 1852-1880 please Help by letting me know the name of the printer, the Branch City, date and denomination on the note so that this the discrepancy can be further investigated.