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Asiatic Bank, Madras, 'Star Pagodas 5 / Arcot Rupees 17½', ND (circa 1804). One of the earliest Indian private-bank notes. Obverse headed 'ASIATIC BANK' over a vignette dated 1804 of a seated female figure (Asia/Britannia) with a recumbent tiger; "Promise to pay the Bearer on demand ... Star Pagodas 5 or Arcot Rupees Seventeen & Half", Madras, with the denomination in English and vernacular (Tamil/Telugu/Persian) scripts. Reference: J&R 1C.1.1.1. Extremely rare. Provenance: British Museum, reg. no. CIB.13996. British Museum object C_CIB-13996.