Catalog
1 Rupee Gulf
| Issuer | Government of India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1959-1970 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A vignette of the obverse of the Indian one-rupee coin is placed at upper left. A central language panel carries the denomination inscription in multiple Indian scripts. A watermark window is located at right, with the overall design rendered in red-based tones. |
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| Protection description | Plain watermark area visible through dedicated windows on both obverse and reverse. |
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| Comments |
The Gulf rupee was a parallel currency created specifically to curb gold smuggling from the Persian Gulf back into India. Introduced under the Gulf Currency Note Act of 1959, these notes were legally valid only in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the Trucial States — not within India itself — effectively severing the arbitrage route that had been draining Indian gold reserves throughout the 1950s.
Kuwait withdrew in 1961 when it issued its own dinar. Bahrain, Qatar, and the Trucial States followed through the mid-1960s and early 1970s. By the time the series was formally retired, the entire rationale for its existence had dissolved note by note as Gulf states built their own monetary institutions.