Catalog
2 Annas Bhopal; PoW Camps
| Issuer | Bhopal Prisoners of War Camp |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941-1945 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Green guilloche border surrounds a central orange-brown underprint of intricate lathe-work rosette. The denomination "TWO ANNAS" is printed in large bold letterpress across the centre, with a black overprint reading "BHOPAL" below. The legend "PRISONERS OF WAR" arcs across the upper portion of the guilloche field, and "CAMP" arcs along the lower, while the value indicator "As. 2" appears in cartouches at both left and right margins. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | PRISONERS OF WAR TWO ANNAS As.2 BHOPAL CAMP |
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| Comments |
Bhopal was one of several princely states in British India that operated prisoner of war camps during the Second World War, and the camp scrip issued there functioned as internal currency to prevent detainees from accessing the wider economy. The 2 Annas denomination placed this note in everyday transactional use — canteen purchases, small exchanges — rather than the higher-value notes that handled larger official transactions within the camp system.
Campbell 5100 is thinly documented, and surviving examples are genuinely uncommon. PoW camp issues from the princely states attract less collector attention than their British-administered counterparts, which has kept valuations suppressed relative to actual scarcity.