BANKNOTES OF INDIA FOR BURMA
Burma had no banking business and did not issue
any banknotes before the annexation by the British Empire. Following the three Anglo-Burmese
annexations, Burma was incorporated into the British Empire, not as an
independent new colony, but as a province of India. Banknotes of India were used in Burma
following the British occupation of lower Burma in 1824. The notes that were circulated in Burma
during that period were issued by the Presidency Banks of Bengal, Bombay and
Madras until 1862. After the Indian
Paper Money Act was passed, the issue and circulation of banknotes in India was
taken over by the Government of India in March 1862. The banknotes of Government of India were
circulated in Burma and the Currency Department had a circle of issue at Rangoon,
which was established in 1882. These
Government of India notes were in circulation till 1938, followed by the
Reserve Bank of India notes specific to Burma and then the Overprinted India
notes of Reserve Bank of India.
Government of India – Uniface 10 Rupees
Green Underprint – Rangoon Circle
BANKNOTES
AFTER BURMA-INDIA SEPARATION:
Following the British annexation, movements
towards independence grew steadily among the people. In April 1937, the implementation of the
Government of Burma Act (1935) brought about the long-awaited separation of
Burma from British India. Burma was
separated from India but still remained under British rule on April 1, 1937.
The separation of Burma from British India
necessitated legislation to amend The Reserve Bank of India Act. Thus emerged ‘The India and Burma (Burma
Monetary Arrangements) Order, 1937’, along with the Government of Burma Act. The Monetary Arrangements Order essentially
set out the legislative changes required to make the Reserve Bank of India the Central
Bank for the two countries.
The Reserve Bank of India Act was passed by the
Indian Legislature and granted consent by the Governor General in 1934 and the
Reserve Bank of India was established in 1935.
The Reserve Bank of India was a privately owned institution modelled on
the Bank of England. Although The Reserve
Bank of India was to manage the currency of Burma and also continue to carry on
the business of banking in Burma, it was still subject to the provisions of
‘The India and Burma (Burma Monetary Arrangements) Order, 1937’.
The standard monetary unit was to be the Rupee for
both Burma and India. The Government of India still retained the right of
coinage. The sole right to issue
banknotes in Burma was given to the Reserve Bank of India since the Government
of Burma was prohibited from issuing any currency notes on their own.
There was also an obligation to issue a separate
series of Burma banknotes. The newly
established Reserve Bank of India did not issue any notes of its own for Burma
and continued with the circulation of the existing Government of India notes
until 1938. As an interim measure before
the first distinctive Burma notes were ready, the Monetary Order permitted the
use of Government of India Portrait Notes of King George V of denominations 5,
10 and 100 Rupees overprinted in black with the words “Legal Tender In Burma
Only” as a stop-gap measure as a Provisional
Issue.
Provisional Issue - Government of India – 10 Rupees –
obverse
with black overprint LEGAL TENDER IN BURMA ONLY
Government of India – 10 Rupees – reverse
with
black overprint LEGAL TENDER IN BURMA ONLY
The black overprint merged with the colour of
the note and was not distinctive. Since
the black overprint was not prominent, it was decided to withdraw the notes with black
overprints and exchanged them with notes of red overprint. This happened during the second half of
1937.
Government of India – 10 Rupees – obverse
with red overprint LEGAL TENDER IN BURMA ONLY
Government of India – 10 Rupees – reverse
with
red overprint LEGAL TENDER IN BURMA ONLY
The lower denomination notes of 5 and 10 Rupees
of the black overprinted notes were exchanged with the red overprinted notes
and destroyed.
However, the denomination of 100 Rupees, the
exchange was made by cutting out the lower left hand quarter and retaining it
for accounting purpose. The date on which it was exchanged was
recorded with a seal on the reverse of the quarter note. This
quarter note was never used as emergency money or as 25 Rupees. The remaining
3/4th of the note was destroyed. Therefore we do not
get to observe the remaining 3/4th of these notes.
Government of India – 100 Rupees - obverse - lower left-hand quarter
Government of India – 100 Rupees - reverse of lower left-hand quarter
having seal with date of exchange 7-9-37
It was also a common practice in Burma to retain
the lower left corner of the note for denominations 100, 1000 and 10,000 Rupees
for accounting purposes when these Government of India notes were exchanged for
Reserve Bank of India “peacock” notes.
Government of India – 1000
Rupees – obverse lower left-hand quarter
There was also demand for notes of denomination
1000 Rupees. These 1000 Rupees notes with the Portrait of King
George V were stamped with a red hand seal on the obverse and the reverse of
the Government of India notes of Rangoon Circle. They bear the
serial numbers between X/6-090001 to X/6-100000.
Government of India – 1000 Rupees – obverse
with red overprint LEGAL TENDER IN BURMA ONLY
Government of India – 1000 Rupees – reverse
with red overprint LEGAL TENDER IN BURMA ONLY
New banknotes for
both India and Burma were designed and printed at the Nasik Security Printing
Press. The first distinctive Burma notes were issued in May 1938, popularly
known as ‘Peacock Notes’.
Reserve Bank of India – 100 Rupees –
obverse
Banknote for Burma with Peacock motif
Reserve Bank of India – 100 Rupees –
reverse
Banknote for Burma with tusker elephant motif
The name ‘Rupee’ was retained as the official
name of Burma’s currency. The new
‘Peacock Notes’ issued by the Reserve Bank of India carry the promise text ‘I promise to pay the bearer on demand the
sum of _______ Rupees at any office of issue in Burma’. In other words, the Burma notes were not
legal tender in India. Burma notes had
three languages - English, Burmese and Shan.
Commencing in 1938 until July 1939 there were five denominations of
Burma notes in circulation Rupees 5, 10, 100, 1,000 and 10,000 with the
portrait of King George VI and all signed by J. B. Taylor on the obverse. The notes were with distinctive design
features of Burmese motifs of peacock, tusker elephant, prowling tiger, sailing
dhow, ox-carts and waterfall.
Reserve Bank of India – 5 Rupees –
obverse - Banknote for Burma with Peacock motif
Reserve Bank of India – 5
Rupees – reverse - Banknote for Burma with tusker elephant motif
Reserve Bank of India – 10 Rupees – obverse
Banknote for Burma with Ox Cart motif
Reserve Bank of India – 10 Rupees – reverse
Banknote for Burma with Sailing Dhow motif
Reserve Bank of India – 1000 Rupees –
obverse
Reserve Bank of India – 1000 Rupees – reverse
Banknote for Burma with prowling tiger motif
In the period between 1938 and 1952 there were
four kinds of legal tender notes:
·
The
Government of India notes.
·
The
Government of India Provisional Issue Overprinted Banknotes which were in
circulation until 1950.
·
The
Reserve Bank of India Peacock Notes for Burma.
·
The
Reserve Bank of India notes with Portrait of King George VI with the overprint
‘Military Administration of Burma’ and the ‘Burma Currency Board’ in denominations
of 5, 10 and 100 Rupees and Government of India 1 Rupee Notes.
In 1938, the Reserve Bank of India issued a new
series of notes for circulation in India with the portrait of King George VI in
denominations of 5, 10, 100, 1000 and 10,000 Rupees, with the monetary value in
eight languages, including Burmese on the reverse.
The subsequent Japanese occupation and
liberation of Burma during World War II saw Burma placed under a Military
Administration that gradually gave way to a Civilian Rule in 1946. Both the Military Administration and the
Burma Currency Board constituted under civilian Government used overprinted
Reserve Bank of India notes in denominations of 5, 10 and 100 Rupees for
circulation in Burma. The Reserve Bank
of India notes were overprinted ‘Military Administration of Burma Legal Tender
in Burma Only’ were issued in 1945 and withdrawn in June 1950. The Reserve Bank of India notes of 5, 10 and
100 Rupees were also overprinted ‘Burma Currency Board Legal Tender in Burma
Only’ issued in 1947 and withdrawn in June 1952. The 5 Rupees was overprinted in black, 10 and
100 Rupees were overprinted in red in both cases. In the language panel on the reverse of the
10 Rupees note, the denomination is not mentioned in Burmese. The denomination is overprinted in Burmese in
red on the obverse of the note.
Reserve Bank of India – 10 Rupees – obverse with red
overprint of denomination in Burmese
and MILITARY ADMINISTRATION OF BURMA LEGAL
TENDER IN BURMA ONLY
Reserve
Bank of India – 10 Rupees – reverse without Burmese in the language panel
The Government of India 1 Rupee notes
overprinted in red ‘Military Administration of Burma Legal Tender in Burma
Only’ were issued in 1945 and withdrawn in June 1950. These were used for the Armed Forces only. The Government of India 1 Rupee notes
overprinted in red ‘Burma Currency Board Legal Tender in Burma Only’ were
issued in 1947 and withdrawn in June 1952.
These were used for Burmese Nationals and Civilians only.
The Reserve Bank of India closed its operations
in Burma in September 1946. With the
attainment of political independence by Burma, the Government of Burma
terminated with effect from July 1, 1948, the legal tender character in Burma
of the Reserve Bank ‘India’ notes and the Government of India one rupee notes
without the superscription ‘legal tender in Burma only’. With effect from June 1, 1950, the Government
of Burma divested the old overprinted pre-war Burma notes as well as the Burma
notes of distinctive design issued by the Rangoon Office of the Bank and the
Burma Military Administration notes issued since 1945 first by the Burma
Military Administration and later by the Government themselves, of their legal
tender character in Burma.
The overprinted India notes issued by the Burma
Currency Board ceased to be legal tender in Burma with effect from December 29,
1952.
Reserve Bank of India – 100 Rupees – obverse with red
overprint
BURMA CURRENCY BOARD LEGAL TENDER IN BURMA ONLY
Reserve Bank of India – 100 Rupees – reverse
Under an Act which came into effect on October
1, 1947, the Union Bank of Burma was established with the obligation to act as
banker to the Government and to manage the public debt. It could also act as the agent of the
Currency Board on terms mutually agreed upon and approved by the Governor of
Burma.
All Government of India and Reserve Bank of
India issues for Burma were withdrawn in June 1950.
‐by REZWAN RAZACK
co‐Author – ‘The Revised Standard Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money’
Chairman, IBNS India Banknote Collectors Chapter IBNS # 9733
Tel: +91‐80‐25591080 / +91‐80‐25001124
