10 Rupees

The Government of Mauritius began issuing its own paper currency in 1876 following the Currency Notes Ordinance of that year, which authorized direct government issue rather than relying on private bank notes. These early De La Rue printings for Mauritius carried a payment obligation backed by the colonial treasury rather than a chartered bank — an arrangement shaped partly by the failure of the Mauritius Bank in 1847 and lingering colonial distrust of privately-issued paper.

The nearly thirty-year date span on P#14 reflects a long print run with multiple issue dates hand-inserted, a common De La Rue colonial practice. Surviving examples with legible original dates are considerably more useful to collectors than undated or worn survivors.