History of Indian Notes – A Quick Overview and Interesting Facts

The earliest notes of India were issued by three banks - Bank of Hindostan which was functional from 1770 to 1832; the General Bank in Bengal and Bahar which was established by Hastings in 1773 and issued notes for two years; and the Bengal Bank which was functional from 1784 to 1791.

Old notes of India issued for Bengal presidency featured designs only on one side initially. Later on, these currency notes of India featured the allegorical female figure of Commerce and designs on both sides.

Bank of Bombay released beautiful currency notes in India from 1840 to 1860. Private and presidency banks were not allowed to issue paper money after the Currency Act came into effect from 1861. These Indian notes were better in quality than notes issued by other banks and they featured a picture of the Town Hall of Bombay. 

The Carnatic Bank, established by Fort St. George in 1788; the Madras Bank, founded in 1795 and the Asiatic Bank established in 1804, came together to form the Bank of Madras in 1843. This bank issued notes of India featuring the vignette of the then Governor of Madras, Sir Thomas Munroe.

The very first British India notes that were issued after the Currency Act belonged to the Victoria Portrait series and featured designs only on one side. These notes were produced out of handmade paper and came with better security features. They were cut into two parts, one part was sent by post and the other half was sent only after the receipt was confirmed.

The unifaced underprint issues were released in 1867 as the earlier notes from Victoria Portrait series were counterfeited on a large scale. The Currency Note Press was set up in Nasik in the year 1928. The press started printing currency notes of India with even better security features.

When it comes to old Indian notes issued by Princely states, Osmania Notes of Hyderabad are the only ones that were circulated. Rare notes of India issued by other colonial powers such as Portuguese bore denominations such as Rupias, Tangas and Escudos. Indian notes issued by the French colonial powers bore the denomination Roupies.

Hope you got a fair idea about the history of Indian notes. So look for these interesting and rare notes of India to put together a brilliant collection.