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2 Rupees
| Issuer | Government of Ceylon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rupee (1871-1972) |
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| Obverse description | Reddish brown on green and ochre guilloche underprint. The central field bears the large numeral '2' flanked by ornate guilloche rosettes, with the denomination TWO RUPEES in bold letterpress across the centre and repeated in Sinhala and Tamil script below. The issuing authority legend appears at top, with the promise-to-pay clause in script lettering, serial numbers and prefix letters at each corner, and the date 'Colombo, 1st March 1917' at lower left above the COMMISSIONERS OF CURRENCY designation. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Blank, unprinted reverse on plain paper stock, showing fold marks consistent with circulation. |
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| Comments |
Ceylon's Government Currency Notes of the 1910s were a direct consequence of the colonial administration's need to replace coin-based small transactions during a period when metal was being redirected toward the First World War effort. The 2 Rupee denomination in this series was introduced to fill a specific gap in everyday commerce — below the larger Treasure chest notes, above the small change that remained in coin.
De La Rue's involvement here was uninterrupted from earlier Ceylon issues, the firm having held the territory's note printing contracts well before the war. Pick 17 is among the scarcer denominations of the wartime government series; surviving examples in any grade above heavily circulated are difficult to source.