Bank of Ceylon
1845-1849 Colombo
The Bank of Ceylon came into existence around 1840 but had no authority to
issue notes till local Government passed Ordinance No 23 of 1844.
This set of Proofs appear to newer than a BoC 1 Pound
Proof from the British Library
Philatelic Collection. This Proof has will receive rather
than Promise to pay, is signed For the Directors &
Company rather than By order of the Court of Directors, has
the name of the Bank in Sinhala and Thamil, and the BoC logo has an
unexpected Camel.
No issued notes are known from this set. British Museum has a unsigned
£2 with a serial number. Others known are specimen Proofs on card.
| Denomination | : 1 £ |
| English | : One Pound |
| Sinhala | : පවඬ් එකයි |
| Thamil | : ஒரு பவுன்ட் |
| Size | : 203 x 127 mm |
| Date | : 18(44) |
| Status | : Proof on Card |
| 
|
| Pick-lk S111
|
| Denomination | : 2 £ |
| English | : Two Pounds |
| Sinhala | : පවඬ් දෙකයි |
| Thamil | : இரண்டு பவுன்ட் |
| Size | : 224 x 129 mm |
| Date | : 18(44) |
| Status | : Remainder |
| 
|
| Pick-lk Unlisted
|
| Denomination | : 5 £ |
| English | : Five Pounds |
| Sinhala | : පවඬ් පහයි |
| Thamil | : ஐந்து பவுன்ட் |
| Size | : 203 x 127 mm |
| Date | : 18(44) |
| Status | : Proof on Card |
| 
|
| Pick-lk S112
|
| Denomination | : 10 £ |
| English | : Ten Pounds |
| Sinhala | : පවඬ් දහයි |
| Thamil | : பத்து பவுன்ட் |
| Size | : 203 x 127 mm |
| Date | : 18(44) |
| Status | : Proof on Card |
| 
|
| Pick-lk S113
|
| Denomination | : 20 £ |
| English | : Twenty Pounds |
| Sinhala | : පවඬ් විසසයි |
| Thamil | : இருபது பவுன்ட் |
| Size | : 203 x 127 mm |
| Date | : 18(44) |
| Status | : Proof on Card |
| 
|
| Pick-lk S114
|
| Denomination | : 50 £ |
| English | : Fifty Pounds |
| Sinhala | : පවඬ් පනහයි |
| Thamil | : ஐம்பது பவுன்ட் |
| Size | : 203 x 127 mm |
| Date | : 18(44) |
| Status | : Proof on Card |
| 
|
| Pick-lk S115
|
Front : On top Center Bank of Ceylon with on either side
numeric value in shaded ellipse with Sinhala ලංක
මුදල් නිධානය in arc above
and Thamil பஙக்ஒவ்சீலோன்
in arc below.
Crowned British Royal Coat of arms within belt with
legend
HONO SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE supported by lion on left and
unicorn on right. Lion standing left on crown. Below DIEU ET MON DROIT in scroll.
On either side No Serial
On left in circular logo, Britannia with helmet seated facing forward,
Shield with Union Jack under her right hand, lion sleeping right and a
rolled package near her feet in front. Trident pointing up in left
hand. Behind from left to right Camel standing right covering part of
a Sailing ship behind, two coconut palms, Elephant standing right, and steam
boat with sails down. All within belt represented by two plain circles
between which legend INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER above and a
buckle at bottom.
Above COLOMBO _______18___.
To right THE BEARER hereof will receive VALUE POUNDS on
demand at the Bank of Ceylon in the Currency of the Island.
COLOMBO _______18___.
Above value පවඬ් ...යි in Sinhala and
below பவுன்ட் in Thamil.
Below For the DIRECTORS & COMPANY above two lines for
Signature with Director and Manager on right
On left within shaded decorate value in Words VALUE POUNDS
with value above පවඬ් ...යි in Sinhala and
below பவுன்ட் in Thamil.
Exd & Entd _____
with Accountt below on right
Only in the highest denomination £50 note FIFTY centered under-print.
In bottom middle in small text
Perkins Bacon & Petch, London. Patent Hardened Steel Plate.
Back : Blank ?
|
| WaterMark |
WaterMark: BANK OF CEYLON in downward arc above COLOMBO
in an upward arc below within a scaloped rectangle made up of
15 each horizontal above and below and 8 each vertical on left and
right with additional 4 diagonal in corners. Click £2 image.
Printed : Perkins Bacon & Petch, London.
Size : The Proof are on cards 8x5 inches or about 203x127 mm.
with the outer limits of the printed design being
7½x4½ inches or about 190x114 mm,
with margins of ¼ inch, larger on the £2 note in BM.
Note that except for the last thamil character ட் where
"dot" is within rather than above, the "dot"s above the Thamil
characters are missing from the printed Thamil Text of Value.
These "dot"s are in Name of bank which has been
transliterate in Thamil as "Paṅakovcīlōṉ"
rather than Translated as in Sinhala as "Lanka Cash Treasury".
The Bank of Ceylon was founded in 1840; a branch was opened in Colombo
in 1841 June, and another in Kandy in 1843. If Notes were issued for
Kandy is unknown, See extract on
production contained in surviving records of the firm held at the
Royal Philatelic Society (RPS), London.
The Bank of Ceylon was taken over by the Oriental Bank in 1849.
The Bank of Western India had been founded in 1842 in Mumbai and was
reconstituted in 1845 as the Oriental Bank, moving its head office to
London and issued notes in Ceylon since 1846.
The 2011 Spink Auction
of 19th Century Ceylon Notes listed Five of Specimen Proofs on card of
Pound
1,
5,
10,
20, and
50.
On the day of this Spink Auction, the anonymous owner of collection cancelled it.
The Banknote Auction catalogs don't give size of the notes. In 2016
while searching the British Museum catalog to find sizes, I noticed
the Bank of Ceylon £2
listed.
I thank Thomas Hockenhull of British Museum for having it imaged and
confirming it's size,
WaterMark imaged with permission in Study Room on 2023 May 25th.
Text from
Paper Money for Ceylon Printed in England by V. H. Hewitt, Pages 255-272
Origin, evolution, and circulation of foreign coins in the Indian Ocean.
Proceedings of the numismatic workshop : Colombo, 1994 September 8-10
edited by Osmund Bopearachchi and D. P. M. Weerakkody
Auction Images at 62;dpi displayed at 50 dpi.
British Museum image at 84;dpi displayed at 50 dpi.
Please contact kavan @ gmail.com if I have made errors in encoding the Thamil in Unicode.