Catalog
100 Rupees
| Issuer | Union Bank of Burma |
|---|---|
| Year | 1953 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Second Rupee (1945-1952) |
| 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 | Central vignette of a peacock in full display, its tail feathers fanned in a circular composition, set within an elaborate intaglio-engraved guilloche border incorporating Burmese mythological figures. Denomination numerals '100' appear at each corner, with a chinthe (mythical lion-dragon guardian) vignette to the right and a blank oval reserve panel to the left. The note is printed predominantly in green on white paper, with Burmese script inscriptions above and below the central motif. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central intaglio vignette of a Burmese farmer guiding a wooden plough drawn by two oxen through a flooded paddy field, with a village and open sky visible in the background. The scene is rendered in fine line engraving in green, framed by an ornate scrollwork border with denomination numerals '100' at each corner. Bank name and denomination are inscribed in English above and below the central scene respectively. |
| 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 |
The Union Bank of Burma was established in 1952 as the country's central bank following independence, replacing the Currency Board arrangements that had carried over from the British colonial period. This 100 Rupee note belongs to the first substantive domestic currency series issued under that new institution — a deliberate assertion of banking authority at a moment when Burma was simultaneously nationalizing key industries and navigating serious internal insurgencies that made normal economic life difficult in large parts of the country.
Thomas De La Rue handled printing throughout this series. The rupee denomination itself was short-lived; Burma decimalized and redenominated in Kyats in 1952–1953, and the transition overlap means some of these higher-value rupee notes saw limited active circulation before the new unit took over.