Ten Thousand rupees note of India .

King George VI Pictorial Ten Thousand Rupees BankNote issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency dated 15th October 1947, it was introduced in 1947 December for inter-bank transactions only.

The Notes are 191 by 140 mm i.e. 7 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches.
Printed by lithography process in India Government Security Press.
Water-mark: Ratnapura Raised Lion with whip on paper manufactured by Messrs Portals Ltd.
Front : Green on Lilac and blue underprint. Portrait of King George VI on the left, a water-mark panel on the right, and the value in words TEN THOUSAND RUPEES in 3 lines in center and in figures 10000 on the top two corners. GOVERNMENT OF CEYLON above THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR PAYMENT OF ANY AMOUNT in two lines. The date 15^TH OCTOBER 1947 appears below the two facsimile signatures of C.E. Jones & T.D. Perera COMMISSIONERS OF CURRENCY. The value රුපියල් දහදාහයි in Sinhala on upper left and Text in Tamil on lower right. The Serial number on the lower left hand side and upper right hand side.
Back : Green on a Lilac and blue tint underprint with Micro printing text THE GOVERNMENT OF CEYLON. Pictorial at center with caption KANDY LAKE with small island. Foliage in foreground and the city of Kandy with the Temple of the Tooth Relic and mountains in background. The value in figures 10000 slanted on upper two corners on either side of GOVERNMENT OF CEYLON in an arc. Lower the value රුපියල් දහදාහයි in Sinhala on left and Text in Tamil on right.

Date on BankNote	Signatures of Commissioners of Currency	Range of Serial #	Mintage in K
15TH OCTOBER 1947	C.E. Jones & T.D. Perera	N/1 00001 - N/5 10000	50

The notes were demonetized with all notes dated before 1950 December 31st on 1955 August 26th and ceased to be legal tender with effect 1956 August 31st.
The details of this issue are from Sri Lanka Currency of Recent Times 1938-1985 T. M. U. Sallay, 1986 Colombo:Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The Unc Specimen note waa scanned at 300 dpi and displayed at 50 dpi. I thank Mr Tuan Sallay for it.
The King GVI Rs10000 is only known as a Specimen and probably the most valuable Ceylon Banknote. Two specimens in CBSL Currency Museum are sadly gummed on to panel and faded over many decades of display.
I was once told by a dealer that about 20 of these Specimens are available with collectors worldwide. Some SPECIMEN stamped on notes with non-zero Serial number.

Pakistani note printed in India

On 1 April 1948, provisional notes were issued by the Reserve Bank of India and the Government of India on behalf of the Government of Pakistan, for use exclusively within Pakistan, without the possibility of redemption in India. Printed by the India Security Press in Nasik, these notes consist of Indian note plates engraved (not overprinted) with the words GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN in English and "Hukumat-e-Pakistan" in Urdu added at the top and bottom, respectively, of the watermark area on the front only; the signatures on these notes remain those of Indian banking and finance officials.

Earliest bank Notes of India .

Paper Money, as we know it today, was introduced in India in the late Eighteenth Century. This was a period of intense political turmoil and uncertainty in the wake of the collapse of the Mughal Empire and the advent of the colonial powers. The changed power structure, the upheavals, wars, and colonial inroads led to the eclipse of indigenous bankers, as large finance in India moved from their hands to Agency Houses who enjoyed state patronage. Many agency houses established banks.
Among the early issuers, the General Bank of Bengal and Bahar (1773-75) was a state sponsored institution set up in participation with local expertise. Its notes enjoyed government patronage. Though successful and profitable, the bank was officially wound up and was short lived. The Bank of Hindostan (1770-1832) was set up by the agency house of Alexander and Company was particularly successful. It survived three panic runs on it. The Bank of Hindostan finally went under when its parent firm M/s Alexander and Co. failed in the commercial crisis of 1832. Official patronage and the acceptance of notes in the payment of revenue was a very important factor in determining the circulation of bank notes. Wide use of bank notes, however, came with the note issues of the semi-government Presidency Banks, notably the Bank of Bengal which was established in 1806 as the Bank of Calcutta with a capital of 50 lakh sicca rupees. These banks were established by Government Charters and had an intimate relationship with the Government. The charter granted to these banks accorded them the privilege of issuing notes for circulation within their circles.
Notes issued by the Bank of Bengal can broadly be categorised in 3 broad series viz: the 'Unifaced' Series, the 'Commerce' Series and the 'Britannia' Series. The early notes of the Bank of Bengal were unifaced and were issued as one gold mohur (sixteen sicca rupees in Calcutta) and in denominations deemed convenient in the early 19^th Century, viz., Rs. 100, Rs. 250, Rs. 500, etc.

Unifaced Notes of the Bank of Bengal The Bank of Bengal notes later introduced a vignette represented an allegorical female figure personifying 'Commerce' sitting by the quay. The notes were printed on both sides. On the obverse the name of the bank and the denominations were printed in three scripts, viz., Urdu, Bengali and Nagri. On the reverse of such notes was printed a cartouche with ornamentation carrying the name of the Bank. Around the mid nineteenth century, the motif 'Commerce' was replaced by 'Britannia'. The note had intricate patterns and multiple colours to deter forgeries.
 

Commerce Series

Brittania Series The second Presidency Bank was established in 1840 in Bombay, which had developed as major commercial centre. The Bank had a checkered history. The crisis resulting from the end of the speculative cotton boom led to the liquidation of Bank of Bombay in 1868. It was however reconstituted in the same year. Notes issued by the Bank of Bombay carried the vignettes of the Town Hall and others the statues of Mountstuart Elphinstone and John Malcolm.

Note issued by the Bank of Bombay The Bank of Madras established in 1843 was the third Presidency Bank. It had the smallest issue of bank notes amongst Presidency Banks. The notes of the Bank of Madras bore the vignette of Sir Thomas Munroe, Governor of Madras (1817-1827).
The other private banks which issued bank notes were the Orient Bank Corporation established in Bombay as the Bank of Western India in 1842. Its notes featured the Bombay Town Hall as vignette. The Commercial Bank of India established in 1845 in Bombay (also an Exchange Bank) issued exotic notes with an interblend of Western and Eastern Motifs. The bank failed in the crash of 1866. The paper currency Act of 1861 divested these banks of the right to note issue; the Presidency Banks were, however, given the free use of Government balances and were initially given the right to manage the note issues of Government of India.

British India Notes

British India Issues commence with the Paper Currency Act of 1861 which gave the Government the monopoly of note issue in India. The management of paper currency across the geographical expanse of the Indian sub-continent was a task of considerable proportions. Initially the Presidency Banks were appointed as agents to promote the circulation of these notes in view of their existing infrastructure. The Act of 1861 authorised the Presidency Banks to enter into agreements with the Secretary of State for becoming agents for the issue, payment and exchange of promissory notes of the Government of India. The problem of redemption of these notes over vast expanses of the Indian sub-continent led to the concept of 'Currency Circles', where these notes were legal tender.

These Currency Circles increased in number as the Government progressively took over the work. The agency agreements with the Presidency Banks were finally terminated in 1867. The Management of Paper Currency was subsequently, in turn, entrusted to the Mint Masters, the Accountant Generals and the Controller of Currency.

Victoria Portrait Series

The first set of British India notes were the 'Victoria Portrait' Series issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000. These were unifaced, carried two language panels and were printed on hand-moulded paper manufactured at the Laverstock Paper Mills (Portals). The security features incorporated the watermark (GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, RUPEES, two signatures and wavy lines), the printed signature and the registration of the notes.



Rupees Ten

Rupees Twenty

Rupees Hundred British India Notes facilitated inter-spatial transfer of funds. As a security precaution, notes were cut in half. One set was sent by post. On confirmation of receipt, the other half was despatched by post.


Half note Underprint Series
The Victoria Portrait series was withdrawn in the wake of a spate of forgeries and replaced by the unifaced 'Underprint Series' which were introduced in 1867. In deference to public demand, notes in the denomination of Rupees Five were introduced. Initially, notes were legally encashable only in the Currency Circle in which they were issued; however, between 1903 an 1911, notes of denomination 5, 10, 50 and 100 were 'universalised', i.e. were legally encashable outside the Currency Circle of Issue.
The Underprint Series notes were printed on moulded paper and carried 4 language panels (Green Series). The languages differed as per the currency circle of Issue. Language panels were increased to 8 in the Red Series. The improved security features included a wavy line watermark, the manufacturer's code in the watermark (the source of much confusion in dating), guilloche patterns and a coloured underprint.
This series remained largely unchanged till the introduction of the 'King's Portrait' series which commenced in 1923.

Green Underprint - Rupees Five Hundred

Green Underprint - Rupees Five

Red Underprint - Rupees Fifty Small Denomination Notes
The introduction of small denomination notes in India was essentially in the realm of the exigent. Compulsions of the first World War led to the introduction of paper currency of small denominations. Rupee One was introduced on 30th November, 1917 followed by the exotic Rupees Two and Annas Eight. The issuance of these notes was discontinued on 1st January, 1926 on cost benefit considerations. These notes first carried the portrait of King George V and were the precursors of the 'King's Portrait' Series which were to follow.

Rupee One - Obverse

Rupee One -Reverse

Rupees Two and Annas Eight - Obverse King's Portrait Series
Regular issues of this Series carrying the portrait of George V were introduced in May, 1923 on a Ten Rupee Note. The King's Portrait Motif continued as an integral feature of all Paper Money issues of British India. Government of India continued to issue currency notes till 1935 when the Reserve Bank of India took over the functions of the Controller of Currency. These notes were issued in denominations of Rs 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 10,000.

Rupees Fifty

Rupees One Thousand

Rupees Ten Thousand With the establishment of the Currency Note Press at Nasik in 1928, currency notes came to be progressively printed in India. By 1932 the Nasik Press was printing the entire spectrum of India currency notes. The improved security features were changed watermarks, intricate portrait designs and multicoloured printing.

British India: Reserve Bank Issues

The Reserve Bank of India was formally inaugurated on Monday, April 1, 1935 with its Central Office at Calcutta.

The first Central Office of the Reserve Bank of India It began operations by taking over from the Government the functions hitherto performed by the Controller of Currency and from the Imperial Bank the management of Government Accounts and Public Debt. The existing Currency Offices in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Rangoon, Karachi, Lahore and Cawnpore became the branches of the Issue Department of the Bank. (It was not then considered necessary to have an office in Delhi.).
Section 22 of the RBI Act, 1934, empowered it to continue issuing Government of India notes till its own notes were ready for issue. The Central Board of the Bank recommended that the Bank notes retain the general size, appearance and design of the existing notes, albeit with modifications.
Notes with the portrait of Edward VIII were scheduled for release in the summer of '37. But Edward's heart had its reasons and his abdication, at levels mundane, delayed the Bank's issues to January 1938 when the first Five Rupee note was issued bearing the portrait of George VI.


Rupees Five - First Note issued by Reserve Bank of India This was followed by Rs 10 in February, Rs 100 in March and Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 in June 1938.

Rupees One Hundred

Rupees One Thousand

Rupees Ten Thousand The first Governor, Sir Osborne Smith did not sign any bank notes; the first Reserve Bank issues were signed by the second Governor, Sir James Taylor.

Sir Osborne Smith	Sir James Taylor

In August 1940, the one-rupee note was reintroduced, once again as a war time measure, as a Government note with the status of a rupee coin, in terms of the Currency Ordinance of 1940 (IV of 1940). The issuance of Rs 2 and Annas 8 was contemplated but Rs 2 was introduced instead on 3rd March , 1943.

Rupee One Obverse

Rupee One Reverse

Rupees Two During the war, Japanese Operations to destabilise Indian currency involved high quality forgeries, largely of Re 10 notes signed by Governor C.D. Deshmukh.

Sir C. D. Deshmukh This necessitated a change in the watermark and obverse design from the profile portrait of George VI to his full frontal portrait. As an added security feature, the security thread was introduced for the first time in India.

George VI Profile

George VI Frontal The George VI series continued till 1947 and thereafter as a frozen series till 1950 when post independence notes were issued.