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1 Rupee
| Issuer | Government of India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1951 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 101 × 64 mm |
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| Obverse description | Grey-green note with a large blank rectangular panel at left for the serial number watermark area, and a circular vignette at right bearing the Ashoka Lion Capital emblem within a guilloche border inscribed 'GOVERNMENT OF INDIA'. The denomination is rendered in both English ('ONE RUPEE') and Hindi ('एक रुपया') against a fine wave-pattern underprint, with the Secretary's signature and title printed below the serial number. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse carries a central vignette of the Indian one-rupee coin of 1951, replacing the earlier floral motif, set against a fine guilloche underprint. A panel displaying the denomination in seven regional Indian languages is reset around the central design, with the numeral '1' and the issuer inscription placed within a decorative border. |
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| Comments |
The Government of India 1 Rupee sits outside the Reserve Bank of India's jurisdiction — by a legal quirk dating to the colonial period, the Finance Ministry retained direct authority over the one-rupee note, which technically functions as a coin substitute rather than a banknote. This distinction was carried into independent India without modification and persists to the present day, which is why the note bears the Finance Secretary's signature rather than the RBI Governor's.
The 1951 issue was among the earliest post-independence printings to drop British imperial references from the text. Printed at the Indian Security Press, Nasik, which had only recently assumed production previously handled under British oversight.