Catalog
2 Rupees 8 Annas 2.5 Rupees
| Issuer | Government of India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| In circulation to | 1 January 1926 |
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| Reverse description | The denomination "Rs. 2/8" appears within an ornamental circle at the upper right, while a stylised G.R.I. (Georgius Rex Imperator) monogram occupies the upper left. A multi-language panel is centred on the note, and security is provided by a watermark incorporating a star enclosed within a rectangle, with "G.R.I." above and wavy lines below. |
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| Signature(s) | M.M.S. Gubbay |
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| Comments |
The 2 Rupees 8 Annas denomination — effectively 2½ Rupees — was issued under the Paper Currency Act as a wartime measure, introduced to address the severe coin shortage that gripped British India during the First World War. Silver was being hoarded and melted, and small-denomination notes filled the gap left by disappearing coinage. Gubbay served as Controller of Currency, and his signature appears on notes from this period as the authorizing official rather than a bank governor, since India had no central bank until 1935.
The fractional denomination in annas is the detail worth noting: sixteen annas to the rupee meant 8 annas was exactly half, making this an unusual hybrid expressed in both decimal and pre-decimal terms simultaneously.