Old Indian Bank notes Issued by Presidency Banks by deanwinchester123

Old Indian Bank notes Issued by Presidency Banks

OLD INDIAN BANK NOTES ISSUED BY PRESIDENCY BANKS

ď&#x201A;&#x17E;

Private as well as semi-government banks such as the Bank of Hindostan, General Bank in Bengal and Bahar, Bengal Bank issued the earliest Indian bank notes in the 18th Century. These old bank notes of India can be majorly classified based on the presidencies for which they were issued, namely Bengal Presidency, Bombay Presidency and Madras Presidency.

ď&#x201A;&#x17E;

Early banknotes of Bengal presidency featured designs only on one side and were termed as uniface notes. They were issued in different denominations such as gold mohur, Rs. 100, Rs. 250, Rs. 500 etc. Commerce Notes featuring a vignette of an allegorical female figure personifying 'commerce' was introduced later with designs on both sides. Urdu, Bengali and Devanagari languages were used on the obverse side.

ď&#x201A;&#x17E;

Commerce notes were replaced by the Britannia Series in the 19th century. These early bank notes of India featured more complex designs as the older versions in circulation were being duplicated. Bank of Bombay issued Indian presidency banknotes from 1850 to 1860. Private and presidency banks were not allowed to print paper promise notes after the new Currency Act was introduced in 1861.

ď&#x201A;&#x17E;

Bank of Bombay also issued Bank notes of India with uniface designs. They featured images of the Town Hall of Bombay and bore denominations like 10, 15, 25, 100, 250, 1000, 5,000, and 10,000 Rupees. The obverse side of these rare banknotes featured statues of Sir Mountstraut Elphinstone and Sir John Malcom. Bank of Western India, Oriental Bank and Commercial Bank of India also issued notes for Bombay Presidency.

ď&#x201A;&#x17E;

Notes issued by the Bank of Madras are rare bank notes featuring the vignette of the Governor of Madras, Sir Thomas Munroe. Bank of Madras was formed in 1843 by merging Carnatic Bank, Madras Bank and Asiatic Bank. Many collectors dream of owning early Indian bank notes issued by the presidency banks. Some of these notes are sold by auction houses for thousands of rupees.