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| Issuer | Reserve Bank of India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | First Rupee (1937-1944) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
| Protection description | the King's portrait visible when held to light |
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| Comments |
The Reserve Bank of India had only been established in 1935, and these early high-denomination notes were still being printed in London by De La Rue — a dependency that would become politically uncomfortable as independence pressure mounted through the 1940s. The "King Emperor" series to which this note belongs was discontinued after George VI's title changed following Indian independence in 1947, making the entire run obsolete within roughly a decade of issue.
Notes from 1939 saw wartime hoarding almost immediately. High-value paper currency disappeared from active circulation across British India during the war years, which means genuinely circulated examples are often in poorer condition than one might expect for a note of this age.