Catalog
1 Anna Bhopal; PoW Camps
| Issuer | Bhopal Prisoner of War Camp |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941-1945 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Anna (1⁄16) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Printed in brown and purple on buff paper, the face is dominated by a central oval guilloche underprint in yellow-ochre bearing the large letterpress denomination ONE ANNA with a black overprint of BHOPAL below. The inscription PRISONERS OF WAR arcs across the upper border within an ornate purple lace-pattern frame, with CAMP centred at the foot. Denomination panels reading 1A appear in purple at both left and right margins. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | PRISONERS OF WAR ONE ANNA BHOPAL 1A CAMP |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Bhopal State hosted a Prisoner of War camp during the Second World War, and these internal scrip notes were issued to allow PoW transactions within the camp economy — preventing direct access to circulating currency that could facilitate escape. The 1 Anna denomination places this at the lowest end of the camp's scrip scale, likely used for canteen purchases.
Campbell 5099 is sparsely documented, and surviving examples are genuinely uncommon. Most PoW camp issues from the Indian subcontinent were destroyed or simply discarded after repatriation, with little institutional interest in preserving them at the time.