Lot 4130

Description

The Oriental Bank Corporation, unissued blue five pounds, to be issued at Sydney, not dated (c.1855), without number and no signatures, printed on un-watermarked paper, with imprint to left at bottom, 'Perkins Bacon & Co. London', with vignettes of scene with train, and in corners circular framed tablet with 5, all within rectangular ornate border, back with several geometrical circles intertwined, black on white, (Vort-Ronald, type [a], p.189-191 on bank, and similar note illustrated as Fig.198). Extremely fine, and very rare.

Although founded in India in 1842 it moved to its new head office in Threadneedle Street London in 1851, and shortly after opened in Melbourne and Sydney in 1852. It closed in 1884 when various depressions in Mauritius and Ceylon forced it to suspend payment. It was able to pay between 19/3 and 19/9 in the pound. After re-organisation the bank gradually moved the bulk of its business into Asia. It failed again in 1892 during the depression of that time. Probably a dozen or so notes from this bank survive.