100 Rupees

Pick 44 belongs to the "Lion Capital" series — the first issue under the Reserve Bank to fully replace colonial-era imagery following the 1947 transition. The shift from the George VI portrait notes took nearly a decade to complete in practice, and by the time this series circulated, India had already fought one war with China (1962) and was months away from the 1965 conflict with Pakistan. High-denomination notes in active circulation during wartime economies absorb punishment quickly, and heavily worn examples of this type are the norm rather than the exception.

Printed by the Security Printing Press at Nashik, the series is also notable for being the first Indian high-denomination issue where the signature changed multiple times within a single Pick number — governor signatures from Rama Rau through to L.K. Jha all appear across this date range, making signature attribution the primary collector distinction within the type.