Brought back on public demand in 2015, the lowest denomination note in India is celebrating its 100th birthday today.
The first Re 1 note, introduced on 30 November 1917, was made with handmade paper and had King George V's face on it.
Aditya Vij, an artefact collector based in Delhi takes us through the extraordinary journey of the Re 1 note while narrating some unknown facts about it.
From its inception during the World War 1 to its return in circulation in 2015, the Re 1 note has travelled through a glorious history.
From a bundle of Re 1 note with Dr Manmohan Singh’s signature during his tenure as a finance secretary (since all Re 1 notes are supposed to be signed by India’s Finance Secretary and not the RBI governor) to a pack of notes carrying the symbol of Bombay High Oil Field, Aditya has an amazing collection of some of the oldest Re 1 notes.
Till 1970 this Indian one rupee note was also used as a currency in Persian & Gulf countries like Dubai, Bahrain, Muscat, Oman etc. These notes used at that time have a current value of Rs 20,000 to 30,000 per note in the collectors’ market.
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