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50 Dollars Mauritius Commercial Bank
| Issuer | Mauritius Commercial Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1849 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL BANK PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND THE SUM OF FIFTY DOLLARS TEN POUNDS STERLING COLONIAL CURRENCY VALUE RECEIVED FOR THE MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL BANKING COMPANY |
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| Variants | P#S126a - January 1840 P#S126b - May 1840 |
| Comments |
The Mauritius Commercial Bank was founded in 1838, making it one of the oldest commercial banks in the African and Indian Ocean region. By the late 1840s it was issuing its own notes under colonial banking arrangements that permitted private note issue — a privilege that would eventually be curtailed as imperial monetary policy tightened across British territories in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
P#S126 carries the "S" prefix in Pick, meaning it is catalogued as a local or private issue rather than a central government emission. Surviving examples from 1849 are exceptionally rare; paper of this period in the humid Indian Ocean climate deteriorated quickly, and redemption or destruction after the bank transitioned away from private note issuance removed most from circulation permanently.