Did you know series (5): 1000 rupee notes; Classification and valuation by the period when they were printed and their issue numbers .

Did you know series (5)

Classification and valuation of   1000 rupee notes by the period when they were printed

and their issue numbers

Most of us are familiar with Indian currency notes of various denominations, and have even spent 1000 rupee notes while making payments for our expenses. In fact, given the high levels of inflation battering our home budgets, a 1000 rupee note is being spent by us, the Indian consumers, like a 100 rupee note was being spent at the beginning of the 21^st century.  With most of the money being earned by us getting used up towards meeting the household budget. 

We  hear stories about some lucky collectors who are in possession of a  packet of currency notes which was  issued in the  1960s or 1970s or in the early 1900s and which  have a lot of  value today , we just say,lucky guy, his grandfather must have saved it for him. In fact, a few months ago, there was a story that a 1 rupee packet issued under the signature of the then Finance Secretary S. Bhoothalingam in 1964 which was worth Rs.30.00 lacs (approx.) got lost in transit. It was like losing a two bedroom house in Pune, where I live!!

Nevertheless, you can begin your Note collection today and who knows, maybe some day we may read your name in the papers as someone who made a fortune by selling his/her notes which were collected 20 or 30 years ago. 

To begin with, have you ever looked at the serial numbers of the 1000 rupee notes (I will be covering other denomination of Indian currency notes in subsequent blog posts). They have a story to tell all by themselves, about who issued them, when were they issued, and whether they are uncirculated and in brand new condition (more collector value) or are worn out and mutilated with use (soiled – less collector value) Over a period of time, these notes grow in value, which is why Currency note collectors pay large premiums to acquire them for their collection. Interested in finding out more? Then read on:

I am going to start with the 1000 rupee currency notes issued in the last decade or so (since October 2000) ,and go back to the historical data mainly for reference purposes.

The first 1000 rupee notes issued in the current Mahatma Gandhi series were issued during the tenure of Dr. Bimal Jalan, (RBI Governor from 22.11.1997 to 05.09.2003) in October 2000. There were two variants found in the serial numbers “Plain Inset” or “A” Inset in the notes issued during his period from October 2000 to September 2003 , however, no year was mentioned on the reverse of these Notes. 

If one has an uncirculated 1000 rupee note from this period , for a collector ,the value of each note  would be between Rs. 1500/- and Rs. 2000/- (approx). The price of soiled and circulated notes would decrease substantially. Therefore, it is important to look out for an uncirculated Note, for one’s collection, for it to gain substantially in value.

 Remember, that with the passage of time, the value of the older notes increases, particularly if they were signed by earlier RBI Governors and they are fast getting out of present day circulation or have already gone out of circulation. You do not find ATMs or Bank Tellers dispensing uncirculated 1000 rupee notes signed by Dr. Bimal Jalan today, but if you do come across one such note, you have to decide whether to spend it or keep it in your collection.

What is a “Plain Inset” or a “Lettered Inset” will be clear from the pictures of some 1000 rupee notes which I have in my collection issued under the signatures of Dr. Y.V.Reddy (RBI Governor from 06.09.2003 to 05.09.2008).

The above is a 1000 Rupee Note issued under Dr. Y.V. Reddy’s signature. If you will look at the serial number of the Note ‘8CD’ is the Prefix, the serial No. is ‘819675’. There is no letter of the alphabet mentioned in the background of the serial number. (This aspect will be made amply clear from the currency note image given below).  Hence, this note is said to have been issued with a “Plain Inset”.

The reverse of the above note has the year 2007 mentioned on it, indicating the year of issue. “Plain Inset” currency Notes issued under the signatures of Dr. Reddy were issued in 2003/2004 (where the years are not mentioned on the obverse), 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. 

Take a look at this Note.  The Prefix of the Note is ‘4AW’, the serial No. is 245096. There is the alphabet “R” in the background of the serial number. This is a specimen of an “R Inset”.

 The above is the back  of the above “R Inset” note issued in 2006. These Notes with Dr. Reddy’s signatures were also issued in 2005, 2007 and 2008, with the years of issue mentioned on the reverse.

 The above note is issued with an “L”inset in 2007. The letter ‘L’ is in the background of the serial number.

Scan 8

Reverse image of the above “L” inset note which was issued in 2007. Currency Notes with an ‘L’ Inset were also issued in 2006 and 2008 under Dr.Reddy’s signatures.

The value of all these Notes issued under Dr.Reddy’s signatures today would be around 1200/- (for the later issues) to about Rs.1500/- or Rs. 1600/- for the earlier issues. Check out these Notes while taking payment at ATMs or Bank Branches. You may still come across some uncirculated issues.

The most frequently seen/used 1000 Rupee Notes today are issued under the signatures of Dr. D.Subbarao, (RBI Governor from 05.09.2008 – present day).

Obverse of a “Plain Inset” issue in 2009 under the signatures of Dr.D.Subbarao. 

Reverse of the above note issued in 2009. Notice the year “2009’ mentioned below the pictures on the note.

Reverse of a Plain inset Note issued in 2010

Plain Inset notes were also issued in 2008 and 2011 under Dr. Subbarao’s signatures with the year mentioned on the reverse side.

           

Obverse of an “R” Inset Note issued in 2009 under Dr.Subbarao’s signatures.

Reverse of the above “R” Inset Note showing the year of issue 2009.

Obverse of an “L” Inset Note issued in 2010.

 Reverse of the above note, showing the year of issue 2010.

 Obverse of an “L” Inset Note issued in 2011.

 Reverse of the above Note showing the year of issue 2011.

“L”Inset 1000 rupee notes were also issued in 2009.

The value of all the above Notes in uncirculated condition can range between Rs.1100/- to Rs.1200/- for the later ones and Rs.1200/- to Rs.1300/- for the earlier ones for collectors. 

(Note: The values mentioned here are indicative and may vary as per a Collector’s requirement and assessment)

The above is an image of a Rs.1000/- note issued with the rupee symbol in 2011. Notice that the serial number of the Note is of the "0AA" series, indicating that this is among the first few Notes issued with the Rupee symbol in its design. The rupee symbol appears twice before the "1000" numeral on this face. 

An image of the back of the above Note,again having the rupee symbol in two places on the top side before the numeral "1000". The "1000" numeral on the lower left hand side does not have the rupee symbol before it.

Take a look at this Rs.1000/- note with an "L" Inset. It does not have the rupee symbol, although it has been issued in 2012, i.e. after the issues of the Rs.1000/- note in 2011 with the rupee symbol. This indicates, that both styles of Notes are being printed simultaneously and this Note would be a Collector's item being one of the last few Notes to be issued in this style.

 Reverse of the above Note, showing the year of issue as "2012", but there is no Rupee symbol on the back as well.

One thousand rupee Notes which are not in circulation now:

One thousand rupee notes were first issued under the signature of B. Rama Rau (RBI Governor from 01.07.1949 to 14.01.1957) on 1^st April 1954, with the reverse showing the Brihadeeswarar temple design (Please refer my post No. 30 “Celebrating 1000 years of Brihadeeswarar temple”). These note issues at various points during his tenure are valued at between Rs.60,000/- and Rs.1.20 lacs (approx) for uncirculated notes.  Later, these notes were also issued during the tenures of other RBI Governors, for example, H.V.R Iyengar (RBI Governor from  01.01.1957 to 28.02.1962) notes valued at about Rs.5.00 lacs , P.C.Bhattacharya (RBI Governor from 01.03.1962 to 30.06.1967) notes valued at about Rs.1.00 lacs, N.C. Sengupta (RBI Governor from 19.05.1975 to 19.08.1975) and K.R. Puri (RBI Governor from 20.08.1975 to 02.05.1977) notes valued at Rs.25,000/- to Rs.30,000/- All these notes were demonetized in 1975 itself, during the early part of Mr. Puri’s tenure as RBI Governor).

A few tips for newbie currency Note collectors of all denominations:

1)   Only some Notes pick up great value, like the 1 rupee packet issued under the signature of the then Finance Secretary S. Bhoothalingam in 1964 which was worth Rs.30.00 lacs (approx.) Chances are that other currency notes signed by him may not appreciate in the same proportion. It all depends on the number of notes issued in a particular series as well as the availability of such notes for collectors

2)   As mentioned above, collectors are not only interested in currency notes which have gone out of circulation, but also, those which are currently in use., particularly, if they have some special feature say for example a “fancy” series number  eg: 999999.or 123456 or a collector’s birthdate or wedding date number  termed as “memorable dates”etc. 

3)   The name of the RBI Governor and the tenure for which he was in office is very important, because, if his tenure was short, lesser number of notes would be in circulation adding to their collector’s value.

4)   You may come across an error note, though quite rarely. These notes are normally destroyed, but due to omissions at the concerned Currency Printing Press, they find their way into general circulation. These notes acquire great value for collectors. 

5)   Take a look at the obverse side image of a one-rupee currency Note in my collection which has come down into my collection from my father-in-law signed by the then Finance Secretary S.Venkatiramanan, issued in 1985. The value of this note would depend on an individual collector’s “need to possess” basis, but would be definitely more than uncirculated notes of the same period and denomination.

6)   Sometimes, a note is misprinted at the Security Printing Press and has to be replaced. The Printing Press, inserts a “Star” sign in between the prefix and the serial number of the note. Such notes are picked up by collectors as soon as they are released for general circulation and one may not come across such a note in circulation. Nevertheless, these notes acquire much more value than the denominations that they represent.

7)   Complete and uncirculated packets of currency notes whether stapled or loose, with original paper bands have great Collector interest. For example, I have a 2 rupee packet signed by RBI Governor S. Venkatiramanan (RBI Governor from 22.12.1990 to 21.12.1992) for which I have been offered Rs.3500/- by a collector. However the packet is an integral part of my collection.

8)   “Mint fresh” or uncirculated Notes preserved in the same condition have greater value than soiled/circulated/creased notes.

9) The Reserve Bank of India destroys several million pieces of soiled currency notes of various denominations every year (i.e. Rs.1000/-, Rs.500/-, Rs.100/-, Rs.50/-,Rs.20/-, Rs.10/- and upto Rs.5/- categories). For example, during 2010-11, RBI destroyed an aggregate of 13,852 million pieces of various denominations. This results in adding more value to the notes in Collectors’ possession with the passage of time.

Links to other Posts on Indian Currency Notes on this Blog: 

Classification and Valuation of Rs.500/- Notes 

 Classification and Valuation of Rs.100/- Notes

Classification and Valuation of Rs.50/- Notes 

Classification and Valuation of Rs.20/- Notes 

Classification and Valuation of Rs.10/- Notes 

Classification and Valuation of Rs.5/- Notes 

Did-you-know-series-1: Assists for identification of Currency Notes by visually challenged users 

Did-you-know-series-2-what-is-design-or focus of the picture at the back of circulating Currency Notes in India?