The Oriental Bank Corporation
1881-1884 - Kandy

Denomination : 5 Rupees Shade Color : Red Value Color : Pink English : Five Rupees Sinhala : රුපියල්පහයි Thamil : ஐந்துரூபாய் Size : 161 x 127 mm Date : 1st January 1881 Status : Signed
	Click to see image of signed note. Pick-lk S162
Denomination : 10 Rupees Shade Color : Brown Value Color : Orange English : Ten Rupees Sinhala : රුපියල්දහයයි Thamil : பத்துரூபாய் Size : 201 x 126 mm Date : 1st January 1881 Status : Signed
Click front for Specimen with 1881 Serial # range Pick-lk Unlisted
Denomination : 50 Rupees Shade Color : Blue Value Color : Brown English : Fifty Rupees Sinhala : රුපියල්පනහයි Thamil : ஐம்பதுரூபாய் Size : 200 x 128 mm Date : 1st March 1884 Status : Specimen
Denomination : 100 Rupees Shade Color : Green Value Color : Pink English : Hundred Rupees Sinhala : රුපියල්සියයයි Thamil : நூறுரூபாய் Size : 207 x 129 mm Date : 1st January 1881 Status : Specimen
Click front for Specimen with 1881 Serial # range - Pick-lk Unlisted

Front : Decorative vertical panels on either side with Numeric value on top and bottom Guilloche with engraving in central ellipse. Repeated Microprinting of value as Numeric and in English. Panel on left has Crowned Empress Victoria seated on throne with a seven arced shell behind. A scroll in her left hand and chalis(?) in her right hand. Standing lion on either and Sailing boat on left, Coconut palm and building on right. A basket of fruit at her feet. The panel on right Bust of Mercury with caduceus. In centered Decorative horizontal panels KANDY on top and and CEYLON at bottom. Within panels on top Center, arced name THE ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION with legend INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER below. Crowned British Royal Coat of arms within oblate belt with legend HONO SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE supported by rampant lion crowned facing forward on left and unicorn chained with garter on right. Lion standing left on crown. Below DIEU ET MON DROIT in scroll.
On either side Denomination රුපියල් Denomination in Sinhala on left and Denomination ரூபாய் in Thamil on right, with Seriel No below. Within color shaded rectangle
Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their Branch here or at their Bank in Colombo DENOMINATION RUPEES , Value received
Below KANDY with date as day month year. At center huge value in words RUPEES outlined in another Color, and taller than shaded region overlays it, Branch and date, as well as lower part of coart of arms. Below By Order of the Court of Directors
below on right ______ MANAGER
below which on left ENT^D _____ ACCOUNT^T.
At bottom centered just below horizontal decorate in small script
BRADBURY WILKINSON & C^o ENGRAVERS &c, LONDON..
Back : On a elaborate decorate of full back of currency Notes the value in Rupees Numerically and in all three languages, English repeated many times in small and micro text and once prominently in Sinhala and Thamil. Two identical Medallic busts face each in middle. Detailed design of back of each denomination is different from each other in color and detail.

Denomination	Rs 5	Rs 10	Rs 50	Rs 100
Color Vertical bands	Blue-Red-Blue	Red-Blue-Red	Brown-Green-Brown	Green-Brown-Green
Pair of Busts	Lady with hat	Gent with helmet	Gent with winged cap	Lady with hair bun
Sinhala Text	Center Upper	left middle	left middle	Center Upper Arc down
Thamil Text	Center lower	right middle	right middle	Center lower Arc^nbsp;up
Large Numeric value	8	7	6	5

Watermark : ORIENTAL BANK in downward arc above CORPORATION in line below darker than paper (need to confirm)
Printer : Bradbury Wilkinson & 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 design Frame was assumed to be of same height.

The Rs 5 note is 14% less wide, and the vertical panel on left has been made narrower. Only part of the engraving of Mercury is shown.

Only Colombo and Kandy Branch notes are signed by Manager. The Notes of other branches signed by Agent. The Notes printed for Colombo don't have phrase or at their Bank in Colombo.

Spink catalog says that Rs 50 and Rs 100 notes were issued for Kandy Branch, but is not specific of dates. Pick (KM-S) catalog does not list them. Neither of them catalogs recognize that there is a slight difference in wording of Date and Text between the Oriental Bank issues of 1850's, 1860's and 1870's.

Text and Images from Spink Auction listings Rs 5 and Rs 10 and Rs 100.
Images estimated to be 154(Rs5), 290(Rs10) and 61(Rs100) dpi and displayed at 50 dpi.

Known Denomination, Date and Serial Numbers

1881-1884 Kandy -       Rs   5  1881-01-01   K240001-K360000 K246396 K273678 K283327 (KNM)
          Kandy -       Rs  10  1881-01-01   K110001-K185000 K124817
          Kandy -       Rs  50  1881-01-01   K004001-K005500
          Kandy -       Rs 100  1881-01-01   K002001-K003500