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Thursday, November 30, 2017

India's Rs 1 Currency Note And Its 100 Year History Nov 30,1917 - Nov 30,2017

Today Thursday Nov 30,2017, the humble one-rupee note turns 100 years in age.

The first Re1 note printed in England was issued on November 30, 1917 in India, with an image of King George V, the then British monarch, imprinted on the left corner.



Although currency notes were being issued by the government of India since 1861, the Re1 note was launched in 1917 because the silver used for the Re1 coin was melted for making weaponry components during World War I.

When it was issued in 1917, Re1 was equal to 10.7 gms of silver. Taking into consideration the present value of silver — Rs390 for 10 grams — numismatists estimate that over its 100-year life, the value of Re1 has depreciated around 400 times.

Although Re1 currency notes are still around, coins are more common. But there is a big demand for notes, especially for festivals and other auspicious occasions where Re1 is added while gifting money.

The genesis of Re 1 lies in the World War I where the inability to mint coins forced the then colonial authorities to shift to printing Re 1 notes in 1917

It was first introduced in 1917 with the photo of King George V on it but was discontinued due to "cost-benefit considerations". It got reintroduced in 1940, only to be discontinued in 1994 again.

The little note got back again in 2015

Till 1970, Indian One Rupee note was also used as a currency in Persian and Gulf countries such as Dubai, Bahrain, Muscat, Oman etc

Post-Independence in India (August 15, 1947), the first One Rupee currency was issued in 1948. The note was different in size and colour with “One Rupee” written in eight Indian languages. However, Malayalam language was excluded, which was incorporated after the formation of Kerala state in 1956, as per the RBI website

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