King George
V
King George
V
The earliest Pictorial notes of George V were issued as a result of crisis in precious metal stock due to the World War I in 1917. These were also the first notes issued by the government in small denominations, namely 1 Rupee and 2.5 Rupees. The 1 Rupee notes depict a coin of the same value dated 1917. These notes were signed by the three comissioners of issue namely M.M.S. Gubbay, A.C.McWatters and H.Denning, and are known in a total of five varieties, which include variations in the text and watermark. The 2.5 Rupees note depict the portrait of George V in an indented octagon.
Later, in 1920s, the first notes of 10 Rupees with the portrait of George V were issued. The placement of serial numbers on these notes was thought cumbersome for counting and was changed accordingly. New notes of 5 Rupees with the picture of George V followed.
Up to now, the notes of the Government of India were printed in England, but now, chances of getting the notes printed in India were being explored. Accordingly, it was decided to set up a security printing press in Nasik in the Bombay Presidency. This press was inaugurated in 1926 and the first notes to be printed in India were of a new design for 10 Rupees. new notes of 50 and 100 Rupees were issued soon afterwards. The notes of low denominations namely, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 Rupees do not bear a name of the issuing office. The higher denominations of 50 Rupees upwards bear the names of the issuing offices. The offices in this period were established at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Delhi, Karachi, Kanpur, Lahore and Rangoon.
In 1935, the notes of 5, 10, 1000 and 10000 Rupees were issued in a new design. The notes of 10 Rupees bear a banana tree in centre on obverse.
The last notes with a prortait of George V were issued long after his death. It was proposed that the 1 Rupee notes, discontinued in 1926, were to be reintroduced in 1935.Accordingly, new designs for these were prepared and finalised. The new notes showed a coin of 1935 bearing the bust of George V. The notes however, were not issued in 1935, and were actually issued in 1940 when a shortage of precious metals occured during the World War II.
The notes of George V are known to bear the signatures of M.M.S. Gubbay, A.C.McWatters, H.Denning, J.B.Taylor and J.W.Kelly.