Essays of Ceylon BankNotes
1919-1978

By Dr Kavan Ratnatunga

(IBNS:12165-R)

This study is focused and restricted to Ceylon banknotes designs which were never used to issue a banknote, and ignores color trials, color separations, specimens etc of issued notes. Within this selection a provitional catalog of Ceylon Essays currently with 148 records is being edited.

An essay which is most often unique and therefore by definition extremely rare are popular among those collecting bankNotes as an investment. Individually they didn't seem Numismatically interesting, but as a collection, they tell an interesting background to the designs of banknote issue. Most are not properly cataloged and Auction Catalog Listings are the only source of information on essays. The Banknote essays sell for upward of £500.

Since around 2008 Spink of London has been listing a large number of Ceylon essays from the archives of Bradbury Wilkinson (BWCL) and Thomas De La Rue(TDLR). These essays got into the Numismatic market after TDLR took over BWCL in 1986. Spink has granted me permission to use their images in this website, subject to the condition that a link is put to the original auction lot archive listing. This has been done for about 140 essays in about 100 lots from 23 Auctions. The country filtering did not work for Spink Auctions older than 2012 October and those World Banknote auctions were searched by the range of Ceylon Banknote lots. This was not easy as the catalog PDF which has the index has also been removed older than 2016 August. Some lots may have been missed, for example, Auction 16011 was not even listed as World Banknotes and had 20 of the lots used for this compilation.

Images posted for Auction Listings are now getting larger and approaching 300 dpi (dots per inch) which is optimum for seeing detail on Banknotes. For unknown reasons Spink posts images for lot listings with a fixed pixel width rather than dpi resolution. This width in 2008(500 pixels), 2013(800 pixels) 2014(1100 pixels). For Spink HongKong Auction 16011(1500 pixels) had a large Black and White photographic archive of essays. Unfortunately, some lots had up to 5 images placed horizontally making the effective resolution lot smaller for the individual Banknote essay in those lots. As lots purchased for investment appear again on Auction in the 5-10 year timescale, it is hoped in the future, to improve the resolution of any low-resolution images currently posted.

The dates and signatures on essays may not represent the date for which the issue was planned. Essays often have a date scribbled on the essay or on the Board on which the essay has been mounted. That is probably the date on which the essay was submitted and is seen to be sometimes a few years before or after the date used on the essay. Historical events such as the coronation and death of monarchs, election with political change can also be used to date essays.

Few interesting observation from some of these essays.

• Government of Ceylon Rs500 was issued only uniface in 1926. There is an uniface 1919 essay and even a biface 1925 essay.
• Pictorial Banknotes were only issued from 1941. However, they were being proposed as early as 1927 for the Rs5 and Rs10. This essay type, and another essay type is also known.
• Although no banknote was issued in Ceylon with the portrait of King George V there are 2 essays dated 1936-03-23 and 1937-07-30, after his death om 1936-01-20, which are probably from 1934-35 and explains why they were never issued. The same portrait was used in Fiji in an undated issue of 1934-35.
• There were essays proposed maybe by the Currency Note Press (CNP) a division of the India Security Press, Nasik.from with only a profile of King George VI facing left, and a pictorial essay different to that adopted in 1941
• The change in the Authority to Legal Tender occurred in 1941 September 1st after a single issue of the four lower denomination with Promise to Pay dated 1941 February 1st. However there is a Legal Tender essay with a scribbled date of 1938 May 23rd which may indicate this change was being considered 3 years before and the 1941 February 1st issue was either an oversight, or delay in passing the required legislation.
• Post Independence dated 1st November 1948 Government of Ceylon King George VI Pictorial essays before deciding on a Reserve or Central Bank of Ceylon to issue notes.
• John Exter from the Federal Reserve Bank of USA came to Ceylon and helped set up the Central Bank of Ceylon and became its first Governor. A full series of essays from Rs1 to Rs1000 dated 1950 January 1st with a scribbled date of 1949 February 24th uses the name Reserve Bank of Ceylon and has the legality statement Promise to Pay rather than the words Legal Tender used on Ceylon Banknotes since 1941 September, and is signed only by the Governor. The Central Bank of Ceylon was inaugurated on 1st August 1950.
• Rough sketch essay has a 2 part legality statement. In addition to legal tender it says This note is the liability of the Central Bank of Ceylon and is issued on behalf of the Government of Ceylon. The same 2 part legality statement with place COLOMBO next to date is in essay. The second part of the Legality statement which is an explicit statement of authority for issue and liability of CBC, was excluded from subsequent essays and all issued notes.
• Subsequent essays used almost the RBC designs with name Central Bank of Ceylon. A postdated draft essay dated 1951 June 1st with a scribbled date of 1950 December 11th and a predated close to final proof essay dated 1951 March 1st with a scribbled date of 1951 March 28th.
  In the final essays the Rs 2 got image of Medirigiriya Vatadage in medieval City of Polonnaruwa rather than just the its ornate stone Balustrade, the image of Sage Pulasthi changed from a side view to a front view in the back of Rs5 and the Rs50 got the Moonstone at base of the stone stairway to Queens Pavilion in Ancient City of Anuradhapura, rather than Kiri Vehera in the background of Lankatilleke image House in the medieval city of Polonnaruwa.
  Only the Rs1 and Rs 10 were issued dated 1951 January 20th as King George VI died on 1952 February 6th.
• Curious transition sketches dated 1956-4-19 with the Sinhala name Lanka Pradana Bank for the change from the portrait of Queen Elizabeth the second to the Armorial Ensign of Ceylon, and the primary language on the Banknote from English to Sinhala which happened with the issue dated 1956-07-30.
• Subsequently, there have been many proposed pictorial essays from BRADBURY WILKINSON & C^O L^D NEW MALDEN. SURREY, ENGLAND; essays from THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY LIMITED, LONDON and even two essays from WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED, LONDON which were never adopted to replace the 1956 standard Armorial Ensign of Ceylon
  
• Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike who was assassinated on 1959 September 26th. The Armorial Ensign was replaced using essays with his portrait, and issued dated 1961-11-02 for Rs50 and the other denomination in 1962-11-08(Rs2,Rs5,Rs10) and 1963-06-05(Rs100), excluding the Rs1 which was discontinued after the issue dated 1963-06-05.
• The UNP led by Dudley Senanayake won the Parliamentary elections held on 1965 March 20th. The change from the portrait of Late S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to the statue Sage Pulasthi happened with the issue dated 1965-09-09(Rs2,Rs5), 1967-03-07(Rs50) and 1968-01-10(Rs10,Rs100). There are essays with date 1965-06-01 scribbled to change the back of Rs5 which had the sage Pulasthi statue. The change to the throne of Nissanka Malla happened only in 1969-05-10 together with the addition of the name of the Central Bank of Ceylon in English and Tamil. During this change over there were also proposal essays to change Rs10 to D. S. Senanayake, or Anagarika Dharmapala, three suggested Bird & Scenes essays Flora & Fauna essays Structures essays changes to the backs but keeping Sage Pulasthi in the front and one essay dated 1966-11-22 to change both front and back of all denominations. None of these essays were adopted.
• The SLFP led by Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike won the Parliamentary elections held on 1970 May 27th. After the controversial SWRDB with hand raised issue printed by Thomas De La Rue for the Demonetization in 1970, De La Rue submitted a much nicer essays as a substitute. However, the printing order returned to Bradbury Wilkinson which had printed all the other notes for the Central Bank of Ceylon, since its inception in 1950. They too proposed many design essays, but only an Rs50 and Rs100 of those were adopted.
• The Republican constitution was adopted on 1972 May 22nd and there is are essays proposed with that date for the low denominations with a beautiful portrait of Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike, which were not accepted for the issue of Banknotes probably because of superstition.
• Like in the 1960s there were three Flora & Fauna BWCL essays, Pictorial BWCL essays, and Flora & Fauna TDLR essays in the 1970s from to change all of the denominations. None of which were accepted. The much more elegant Flora and Fauna Banknotes using paintings of Laki Senanayake were issued in 1979.
• The UNP led by J. R. Jayawardena won the Parliamentary elections held on 1977 July 21st. TDLR proposed an essay to replace the portrait of Late SWRD Bandaranaike with a Chakra formed by rotation of the Moonstone from the medieval city of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. Similar Chakra from the Anuradhapura Moonstone had been suggested as the symbol of State in 1954 by the commission for the National Arms and Badges. The issue of the Rs50 and Rs100 dated 1977-08-26 used the Armorial ensign adopted with the Republican Constitution.
• TDLR also proposed a complete series of essays dated 1978-02-04 for the adoption of the Democratic Socialist Republic Constitution under an executive President. That too used the same chakra Moonstone, almost suggesting it's adoption as the national logo.

The Government of Ceylon
GC Promise to Pay
1919-12-08 TDLR Rs500        - Government of Ceylon essay
1925-10-01 TDLR Rs500        - Government of Ceylon essay
1928-01-01 TDLR Rs5,Rs10     - Ceylon Pictorial essays
1928-10-01 TDLR Rs5,Rs10     - Ceylon Pictorial essays
1936-03-23 BWCL Rs1,Rs10     - King George V essays
1938-07-01 CNP  Rs1000       - King George VI Pictorial essay

GC Legal Tender
1938-07-01 TDLR Rs2-Rs1000   - King George VI essays
1939-10-01 CNP  Rs1-Rs1000   - King George VI essays	
1939-07-01 CNP  Rs10-Rs10000 - King George VI Pictorial essays
1938-07-01 CNP  Rs10         - King George VI Pictorial essays
1948-11-01      Rs5,Rs1000   - King George VI Pictorial essays
Reserve Bank of Ceylon
ND(1949)        Rs 10        - Reserve Bank of Ceylon sketch
1950-01-01 BWCL Rs1-Rs1000   - Reserve Bank of Ceylon essays

Central Bank of Ceylon
1948-02-01      Rs2-Rs100    - Central Bank of Ceylon Front sketch
1951-06-01 BWCL Rs1-Rs5      - CBC KGVI Preliminary essay
1951-06-01 BWCL Rs1-Rs100    - CBC KGVI Draft essays
1951-03-01 BWCL Rs1-Rs100    - CBC KGVI Final essays
195x-6x-00 BWCL Rs1-Rs100    - CBC Pictorial essays
1956-04-19 BWCL Rs2,Rs50     - LPB Transition sketches to Sinhala

1959-07-30 TDLR Rs2-Rs100    - CBC Pictorial essays
195x-6x-00 WSL  Rs5          - CBC Pictorila essay
1960-08-18 BWCL Rs1-Rs5      - CBC Late SWRDB essays
1964-06-12 BWCL Rs5          - CBC KPB Back essays
1964-06-12 BWCL Rs10         - CBC DSS Front essays
1966-01-15 BWCL Rs2-Rs100    - CBC KPB Bird & Scenes essays
1966-01-15 BWCL Rs2-Rs100    - CBC KPB Flora & Fauna essays
1966-01-15 BWCL Rs2-Rs100    - CBC KPB Structures essays
1966-11-22 BWCL Rs2-Rs100    - CBC Leaders essays
1971-01-01 TDLR Rs50,Rs100   - CBC Late SWRDB essays
1971-02-15 BWCL Rs2-Rs100    - CBC Late SWRDB essays

Republic of Sri Lanka
1972-05-22 BWCL Rs2-Rs10     - CBC Mrs SirimavoB essays
1975-10-06 BWCL Rs2-Rs100    - CBC Flora & Fauna essays
1976-08-27 TDLR Rs5-Rs100    - CBC Flora & Fauna sketches
1976-08-21 BWCL Rs5-Rs500    - CBC Pictorial essays
1977-01-01 TDLR Rs50,Rs100   - CBC Chakra Moonstone essays

CBC Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
1978-02-04 TDLR Rs2-Rs100    - CBC Chakra Moonstone essays

Many of the Essays from 1928 to 1976 are available only as Gray-scale archival photographic proofs. They have been transformed to a pleasanter Sepia Tone often used for older B&W Photographs.
Attempt to use the default color of each denomination of era, didn't look as nice and could be misleading.

Reference

1 IBNS Introduction to Banknotes and BankNote collecting. 2018 www.theIBNS.org