Catalog
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| Issuer | General Treasury of Ceylon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1820-1826 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rix Dollar (1815-1828) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | The Government of Ceylon promises to pay to the Bearer on demand the Sum of Two Rix Dollars in Copper Money at the Exchange of Forty Eight Stivers for One Rix Dollar on presenting this at the General Treasury Colombo RIX DOLLARS TWO |
| Reverse description | The reverse of this early Ceylon Treasury note is plain and unprinted, consistent with the hand-issued government notes of the early nineteenth century, with no vignette, text, or decorative elements. |
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| Comments |
The General Treasury of Ceylon issued these notes under British colonial administration, during a period when the rix dollar — inherited from Dutch rule — was being phased out in favor of sterling. The British had formally taken Ceylon from the Dutch East India Company via the 1796 capture and the 1802 Treaty of Amiens, but Dutch monetary denominations persisted for decades afterward, creating a hybrid currency environment that these locally printed treasury notes reflect directly.
Printing in Colombo rather than London was unusual for colonial issues of this period and almost certainly accounts for the crude typography reported across the series. The rix dollar was officially demonetized in 1828, making the 1820–1826 window for this note extremely narrow.