Catalog
5 Rupees
| Issuer | Union Bank of Burma |
|---|---|
| Year | 1953 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Rupees (5 BUR) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A seated chinze (mythical lion guardian) rendered in intaglio occupies the right side of the note, set against a vignette of palm trees in the middle distance. To the left, an ornate oval frame forms the watermark window, surrounded by intricate guilloche scrollwork and decorative foliate borders. The central panel carries the bank name and denomination in Burmese script, with the serial number printed twice in the lower left area. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Oval watermark panel visible on the obverse left side within a decorative frame |
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| Comments |
The Union Bank of Burma was established in 1952 as part of the newly independent country's effort to replace the Reserve Bank of India's residual authority over Burmese currency — this note belongs to the bank's first substantive issue series. Thomas De La Rue had printed Burmese currency through the colonial period and retained the contract into independence, a continuity that was pragmatic rather than sentimental given the acute shortage of printing infrastructure in postwar Rangoon.
The watermark is the sole security feature, which was typical for De La Rue's lower-denomination output for newly independent states in this period, where cost containment took precedence over elaborate anti-counterfeiting measures.