Nilaish Banknotes World

Bank of Bengal, 100 Sicca Rupees, 13th Sep. 1832, Serial number 30994, sign cut and cancelled. Image Courtesy: Archives International Auctions  Archives International Auctions sold above note of Bank of Bengal for US$ 2700 on 4th June 2014 in an auction. They said that they never handled  these type of notes before! [ Source 1 ]. However this issue was 6th type listed in major catalogues. It is a very rare note and highly collectibles in this form as well. AIA graded this note in the region of Choice Fine to VF. To have an example of this period is a very challenging preposition. 

Nilaish Life Member - IBNS-IBCC "There are few notes denominated 500 Rupees are issued by RBI in 2014 which are signed by D. Subbarao, is a very interesting observation. However, it is said by RBI that process of changing signatures on notes of the new Governor is a tedious process."   The Hindustan Times correspondent reported that ( HT: 4 March 2014 ), "Take Note: RBI goofs up, as invalid notes in circulation".. It is found that some 500 Rupees notes of 2014 carry signature of D. Subbarao, who was previous Governor of RBI in 2013. New Governor, Raghuram Rajan joined the office in the same year. I came across an example and thus, collected it. It is presently sold in collector's market for Rs. 750-1000. An example can be seen below from my collection:  2014: 500 Rupees, signed by Duvvuri Subbarao having serial number 3KN 417376 with inset E. The HT correspondent reported that, "In an embarrassing goof-up, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) h...

Nilaish Life Member - IBNS-IBCC "It is surprising that commonly collectors cherish for Portrait Notes of Kings and Queens... which were issued after regulation of 1861 in India. It is a challenge for any collector, to possess any example prior to 1861!"  I ndia has a vast history of paper money. It dates back to 1770 A.D. when Bank of Hindostan was first founded and issued paper money in India. India was divided into three Presidencies viz; Bengal Presidency, Bombay Presidency and Madras Presidency. East India Company was ruling these three presidencies and Governor General in Council was responsible for rules and regulations in provinces. India was under East India Company Rule till 1858, when the transfer of power happened to the British Crown, Queen Victoria. Bagachi (1997) and DasGupta (1927) recorded that Indian Banking was regulated time and again by East India Company owned banks; Bank of Bengal (1809-1922), Bank of Bombay (1840-1922) and Bank of Madras (184...

Nilaish - Collector & Numismatist IBNS grading is a Banknote grading norm and is accepted by most of the collectors and dealers around the world. If we observe IBNS grading standard for Indian Paper Money it faces following problems: 1. Banknotes prior to 1860 are mostly cancelled and cut by the bank, which is a big issue for grading. Collectors thus have no information about its grading. 2.After 1861 Government of India notes were stamped, cut portions to index the notes, which makes the grading of these notes unworthy in terms of IBNS.  3. British India notes till 1948 were stapled or stitched which degrades the note as it is almost impossible to obtain examples higher than these grades. 4. Republic India notes were stapled till 2005 or later which again makes grading principle amendable. Definitions:  As per notes which have survived we grade notes in following classes which are mostly acknowledged in all private collections. Good:  A well worn ...

by Nilaish - Life Mem. IBNS-IBCC Uniface series notes of India fall in circulation between 1861 and 1927. All known signatures are shown on notes below with period of issue. My acknowledgements to Rezwan Razack for images. 10 Rupees dated 9 May 1862  Major H. Hydes  Signature seen between 1861-62 (Image Courtesy: Rezwan Razack)  10 Rupees dated 8 June 1863  J.A. Ballard  Signature seen between 1863-64 (Image Courtesy: SPINK)  20 Rupees dated 15 May 1862  C.W. Clerdin and H. Hydes  Signatures seen on a note  20 Rupees dated 10 June 1864  S.K. Lambert and J.A. Ballard  signatures seen on a note.  Image Courtesy: Rezwan Razack  100 Rupees dated 5 May 1864 G.W. Cline and H. Hydes  Only note seen  Image Courtesy: RBI  Green Underprint Notes 10 Rupees dated 6 Oct. 1866  H. Hydes  Only note seen  Image Courtesy: Rezwan Razac...

by Nilaish Life Member IBNS-IBCC Paper money is an instrument which circulates money from place to place. Indian banknotes are known since 1770, but there is no specimen or issued note known before 1812. The earliest banknotes which is seen in Razack et al. (2012) shows notes of Bank of Hindostan, Bank of Bengal, Bank of Bombay and Bank of Madras. There were three presidencies; Bengal, Bombay and Madras where these government and private joint stock banks circulated banknotes in India.  These notes were promissory notes issued on demand and were paid on demand. The below excerpt of Bank of Hindostan banknote shows the promissory note as; Bank of Hindostan 10 Sicca Rupees banknote's promissory text:  ON DEMAND I PROMISE to pay to.................... or bearer Sicca Rupees TEN.  Image Courtesy: Rezwan Razack  All other issues of bank of Hindostan had same promissory text. The earliest known banknote which has survived is dating to 1812 of Bank of Be...

Nilaish Life Member IBNS - IBCC (Report)  Everyone spends it daily from their wallets ... hundreds and thousands! I bet that very few people check the notes before spending it. I had been collecting Indian Paper Money since 1997 and yet not grown out of that passion! It is an adventure sport which makes you educated on the way. I was not aware that in India; banknotes were used  since 1810. The earliest survived note is dating to 1812 of Bank of Bengal. This bank is known as oldest government bank in India. It was established by East India Company under shareholder-ship with fellow joint stock firms. They were banks even before 1800s, Bank of Hindostan was established in 1770 recorded by Amiya Bagachi who wrote the history of banking in particular State Bank of India in volumes. Collecting Paper Money of India  I will share some collecting experiences of fellow collectors who enjoy this hobby religiously. The oldest ever catalogue on Indian paper money as ...

An Exceptional Rupees 10 note of 8th June 1863 issued by Government of India, Signed by J.A. Ballard, Commissioner, having serial number C/17 30767, circle of issue is Bombay, With some flaws but very rare note! It is estimated  £30,000-35,000  by SPINK & SON for their April Auctions of 2014.  Image Courtesy: SPINK & SON.   April 15 & 16, 2014 World Banknotes Sale of Spink at London will comprise this exceedingly rare example of 10 Rupees of India. These notes were the first issue of Government of India after currency act of 1861. The private and presidency banknotes were withdrawn and new design with Queen Victoria portrait notes were issued. A very few notes remain in collections but absent from many collections, reported by Barnaby Faull, Director of Banknotes at SPINK.  Image Courtesy: SPINK

By Nilaish, M.B.A. Life Member of IBNS - Indian Banknote Collector’s Chapter    Bank of Madraa ca. 1900 The Governemnt Bank of Madras (Madras Government Bank) which was founded by Lord William Bentinck (see below), the Governor of Madras established there about the beginning of the 19 th century. It is said to have limited  circulation  of its notes. Its notes were like Treasury Bills than notes in proper, as the bank cannot be regarded as note issuing bank in particular (DasGupta 1927). After 1843 Madras Government Bank was replaced by the Bank of Madras. As moving in the same presidency, Asiatic Bank which was established in 1804, had very limited circulation of banknotes.  Lord William Bentick Inside of Bank of Madras Bank of Madras was founded on 1 st July 1843 at North Beach Road in the present day Chennai. The Bank of Madras was established with Rs. 3 million. The Madras Government Bank which was established in 180...

By Nilaish, MBA B ank of Bengal was founded in 1809 by the Charter of Governor General in Council Lord Gilbert Minto.  Bank of Bengal (see below) issued currency notes in Bengal Presidency since 1810 but no currency note prior to 1812 is survived. It is known that Bank of Bengal issued three broad categorical series; Uniface, Commerce and Britannia (Razack et al. 2012). Bank of Bengal notes were also cut into two halves and were sent for encashment to the bank partly to safeguard its theft or loot. There are a few examples which were not cut and survived till today. Bank of Bengal circa 1900  There is no record or note known till today that half currency notes prior to 1850-58 were used for encashment. However, it is known that half notes were paid to owners through Indemnity Bond (Razack et al. 2012): “ Deed of Indemnity between Bank of Bengal and owner of half the note, the other half being mutilated or lost in transit. The owner indemnifying the ban...