The Tea Controller of Ceylon
1st April 1941 - Tea Coupons

Although these Tea coupons like the rubber coupons didn't circulate freely as Currency, some growers used their coupons almost like cash to obtain provisions.

> Denomination : 1 lbs English : One Pound Sinhala : රාත්තල් එකයි Thamil : ஒரு இறாத்தல் Size : 122 x 93 mm Serial Prefix : A Status : Mint-Unclipped SACPM Catalog : SRI-240
Denomination : 5 lbs English : Five Pounds Sinhala : රාත්තල් පහයි Thamil : ஐந்து இறாத்தல் Size : 146 x 99 mm Serial Prefix : B Status : Mint-Unclipped SACPM Catalog : Unlisted
Denomination : 10 lbs English : Ten Pounds Sinhala : රාත්තල් දහයයි Thamil : பத்து இறாத்தல் Size : 143 x 106 mm Serial Prefix : E Status : Mint-Unclipped SACPM Catalog : SRI-241
Denomination : 50 lbs English : Fifty Pounds Sinhala : රාත්තල් පණහයි Thamil : ஐம்பது இறாத்தல் Size : 155 x 112 mm Serial Prefix : H Status : Mint-Unclipped SACPM Catalog : SRI-242
Denomination : 100 lbs English : One Hundred Pounds Sinhala : රාත්තල් සියයයි Thamil : நூறு இறாத்தல் Size : 168 x 118 mm Serial Prefix : K Status : Mint-Unclipped SACPM Catalog : SRI-243

Front : Text printed in Black on a geometric mosaic grid of Green & Pink, including pink CEYLON in large outline font. Centered on top Tea Coupon above Section 20 of the Tea Control Ordinance. Centered in middle (WEIGHT) POUNDS / OF MADE TEA above රාත්තල් (weight) in Sinhala and (weight) இறாத்தல் in Thamil. At bottom left COLOMBO above date 1st April 1941. At bottom right facsimile signature of P. Saravanamuttu above designation Tea Controller.
Back : Blank.

Watermark : The word RESTRICTION in a line in middle with word CEYLON above and GOVERNMENT below in outline font as two arcs forming an ellipse. As this logo is not centered on coupon, part of it may have got clipped out by edge of the coupon. Unlike the Rubber coupons the Watermark is seen on all denominations and always oriented towards top.

Perforations are seen on the left edge of all the denominations. The ½-inch (12 mm) counterfoil on left with mark from single staple as seen on the 5 Pound coupon indicates they were issued in booklets.

Two cards dated before 1941 mention issue of coupons to Registered Proprietor Tea small Holdings. Back is Blank although the say PTO on lower right. No examples of Coupons are known except for 1941.

1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 lbs Rubber coupons from lakdiva Notes Collection scanned at 300 dpi and displayed at 50 dpi. I thank Johanne Dekker for the 300 dpi scan of the 50 lbs Tea coupon from his Collection. I thank Praboth Danuka for images Tea Control Department Coupon Issue Card for 1938-39 and 1939-40.

P. Saravanamuttu, the influential Tea and Rubber controller of Ceylon during the WW-II was the highest paid local civil servant. He was also president cricket-association, and the P. Sara Oval or Colombo Oval of the Tamil-Union Club, is named after him.

Over-production and the Great Depression caused the prices of tea and rubber to plummet. Export revenues decreased from 479 million rupees in 1927 to 189 million in 1932. The Tea Control Ordinance of 1933 confirmed an agreement between the Dutch East Indies, India, and Ceylon to limit their tea exports, and a similar Rubber Agreement was made the next year. Prices then gradually rose. In 1932, with an area of nearly 457 thousand acres planted to tea, nearly 253 million pounds were exported. Under the restriction agreement, on the basis of the 1929 export of 251.5 Million pounds, Ceylon's quota for the 1933 season was to have been 213.8 million pounds, but of this the export was actually less than 200 million pounds.

Tea Coupons are listed in The Standard Catalog to South Asian Coins and Paper Money published by Krause in 1981, page 524, but not listed in Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Specialized Issues.

See also
Article: 1904 The cultivation of Tea in Ceylon
Blog: 1942 The Year Britain bought up all the tea in the world

The Tamil text on this page was typed in Unicode using Eyvball OCR as I am illiterate in Thamil. If you find any errors with corresponding Thamil text on coupon, please let kavanr @ gmail.com