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Overview/History

Indian History

A History of Indian Paper Money

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 colors to deter forgeries.

Britannia 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.