1 Rupee

The Union Bank of Burma was established in 1952 as the country's first fully state-owned central bank following independence, replacing the earlier currency arrangement inherited from the colonial period. This 1 Rupee note belongs to the transitional moment before Burma adopted the Kyat in 1952 — making a Rupee-denominated issue from 1953 something of an anomaly worth examining. It may represent stock printed against carryover authorization rather than a fresh monetary policy decision.

Thomas De La Rue's involvement continued directly from the colonial-era printing contracts, a practical continuity that newly independent governments often maintained simply because alternatives took years to arrange.