Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
4 Annas Calcutta; Karnani Estates
| Issuer | Calcutta American Officers Mess, Karnani Estates |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942-1945 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| 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 | Plain cream paper with simple letterpress printing in black. Issuer name 'CALCUTTA AMERICAN OFFICERS MESS' and 'KARNANI ESTATES' printed in bold serif capitals across the upper portion, with a series letter 'A' at upper right. The denomination 'As. 4' rendered in large bold type at centre-lower field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | A CALCUTTA AMERICAN OFFICERS MESS KARNANI ESTATES As. 4 |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
Karnani Estates was a prominent Calcutta property concern, and its premises on Chowringhee housed one of the American Officers' Messes established during the Second World War, when the city became a major rear-area command hub for Allied operations in the China-Burma-India theater. This note is a privately issued mess chit — not a currency instrument in any formal sense, but a token of internal account used to settle canteen or bar transactions within the mess itself.
The anna denomination roots it firmly in the wartime Indian monetary system before decimalization. These chits were never intended to outlast the occupation, and most didn't.