The Oriental Bank Corporation
1866-1869 - Galle

Denomination : 5 Rupees Note Color : Gray English : Five Rupees Sinhala : රුපියල්පහයි Thamil : ஐந்துரூபாய் Size : 146 x 115 mm Date : 15th June 1866 Status : Signed
	Click to see image of signed note. Pick-lk S147
Denomination : 10 Rupees Note Color : Gray English : Ten Rupees Sinhala : රුපියල්දහයයි Thamil : பத்துரூபாய் Size : 187 x 116 mm Date : 15th Feby 1867 Status : Signed cut
	Click to see image of signed note. Pick-lk S148

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 GALLE, CEYLON 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 ______ Agent
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 other 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.

The Rs 50 note seems to had been cut in two. According to Mr Fred Medis many notes of this era were split in two for postal transmission. To send Money securely by post, one half of note was posted and only when receipt was acknowledged, was the other half posted.

Text and Images from Spink Auction listings Rs 5 and Rs 10.
Images estimated to be 165(Rs5) and 68(Rs10) dpi and displayed at 50 dpi.

Known Denomination, Date and Serial Numbers

1866-1869 Galle -       Rs   5  1866-02-15
                        Rs   5  1866-06-15   G12626
                        Rs   5  1867-02-15
                        Rs  10  1866-02-15
                        Rs  10  1867-02-15   G11005