''The Revised Standard Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money'' is a 2012 book by

Rezwan Razack ''The Revised Standard Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money'' is a 2012 book by Rezwan Razack and Kishore Jhunjhunwalla. The book is a comprehensive compilation of facts, milestones, and other details regarding banknote, paper money in India. I ...

and Kishore Jhunjhunwalla. The book is a comprehensive compilation of facts, milestones, and other details regarding

paper money Paper money, often referred to as a note or a bill (North American English), is a type of negotiable promissory note that is payable to the bearer on demand, making it a form of currency. The main types of paper money are government notes, which ...

in India. It was published in India by Coins & Currencies. Kishore Jhunjhunwalla and

are avid collectors of Indian currency. The book traces the evolution of Indian currency dating back to 1770. It captures the various nuances of modern-day currency as well as incidents that helped shape this sector over the years. The book is in its second edition—the first was authored by Jhunjhunwalla, whose collection was later purchased by

. The revised edition was published after 10 years of research. The book was introduced to the public by Uma Shankar, Regional Director of the

Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...

on 13 January 2012.

Summary

The Revised Standard Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money’’ includes high resolution colour images of notes from Semi-Government and Presidency Banks, which functioned until 1861. The Government of India (

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

) then undertook the issue of banknotes in 1861, and that is when all Early, Private, and Presidency Banks’ currency issues ceased. The Government of India issued banknotes in 1861 which were

uniface In archaeology, a uniface is a specific type of stone tool that has been flaked on one surface only. There are two general classes of uniface tools: modified flakes and formalized tools, which display deliberate, systematic modification of the margi ...

with a portrait of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, and underprinting was introduced to the portrait in the series beginning 1867. Vignettes in the book include the history of Indian bank notes dating back to 1770, when the Bank of Hindostan, a private bank located in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

issued its first banknotes. However, the earliest banknote to still survive is dated 1810, by the

Bank of Bengal The Bank of Calcutta (a precursor to the present State Bank of India) was founded on 2 June 1806, mainly to fund General Arthur Wellesley's wars against Tipu Sultan and the Marathas. It was the tenth oldest bank in India and was renamed Ban ...

. The book includes a comprehensive listing of all Indian banknotes since 1770. Early on, all paper currency of India was printed by the Bank of England and shipped to India for distribution. The British India banknotes of King George V were also printed in England. In 1928, the India Security Press at Nasik became functional and took over from the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

Press the printing of notes. In 1935, the

was established, and since then it has been the only currency-issuing authority and monetary agency for India. The King George VI Portrait Series were in circulation from 1936 till 1947. The series of King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

and King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

were also overprinted for use in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. The overprinted banknotes of King George VI were also used in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

until 1948. The book also deals with banknotes since Indian independence, up to the current series of banknotes with the portrait of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. These include the special-issue notes intended for use in the Persian Gulf for the Trucial States, as well as money used by the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrims. The Osmania banknotes of Hyderabad of 1919-1953 also form a part of this book. Also listed are the issue of banknotes by

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

and the Hawala notes of

Saurashtra Saurashtra, Sourashtra, or variants may refer to: ** Kathiawar, also called Saurashtra Peninsula, a peninsula in western India ** Saurashtra (state), alias United State of Kathiawar, a former Indian state, merged into Bombay State and since its d ...

. The scope of this book includes the issues of Indo-Portuguese notes for Goa and Indo-French territories at Pondicherry. The cash coupons of

Indian Princely States Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

that were printed on paper were issued to counteract the shortage of metal during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Prisoner of War coupons used as money by the interned prisoners of the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, World War II, and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 are also illustrated. The book has an entire chapter on Essays, Patterns, Proofs and Trials, which displays many of the best Indian banknotes that were designed but never made it into circulation. The book illustrates the watermarks and explains the minute features of the notes in detail.

Authors

The book has been primarily authored by

, the joint managing director of Prestige Groups, in association with Kishore Jhunjhunwalla, the sole author of the original ‘’The Standard Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money’’. The authors of the book also acknowledged the roles of Rekha Chandrabhanu, Bazil Shaikh, Murali Thantry, Sanjay Mittal, Mahalingeshwar Athani and Amarbir Singh, an expert on the banknotes and coins of the

Nizam of Hyderabad Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I wh ...

. The Hyderabad notes are also known as Osmania Sicca notes. The authors have dedicated a websit
indianbanknotes.com
to keep the scholars and collectors up to date on Indian Banknote research.

References

Book and Cover Designer

Devika Thukral, Propel Desig

- designers for the book {{DEFAULTSORT:Revised Standard Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money 2012 non-fiction books Books about the economy of India Banknotes of India Numismatic catalogs Indian non-fiction books 21st-century Indian books