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Auction: 25888 - The Jeffrey Wong Collection of World Banknotes - Part I
Lot: 122

(x) Government of India, 1000 Rupees, Calcutta, ND (1928), serial number X10 075262,
A seldom-offered high-denomination note issued under British rule in India. This 1,000 Rupees note stands among the most prestigious denominations of the Government of India paper money series.

Bearing the signature of J.W. Kelly, then Controller of Currency, this note was issued during a period of significant political unrest and growing nationalist agitation throughout the subcontinent. Despite mounting pressure from the independence movement, the British administration maintained tight control over India’s financial institutions. High-denomination notes such as this one primarily serving interbank transfers, government reserves, and large-scale commercial transactions, rarely entering the hands of the general public.

The intricately designed obverse features a crowned portrait of King George V at right, framed by elaborate guilloché patterns, with denominations and text presented in English, Urdu, Hindi, and Arabic—capturing the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of India under the British Raj.

Examples of this high-denomination issue are exceptionally difficult to find, with most having been redeemed and destroyed long ago. This is only the second note of this type Spink has offered in the past eight years. The previous example was in April 2023, when a note graded PMG 30 Very Fine was sold at auction for a realised hammer price of £20,000.

(Pick 12c, BNB 146, Jhun&Rez 3.11.2B), in PMG holder 35 NET Choice Very Fine, retouched, annotations, only 4 notes in higher grade on PMG Census

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Estimate
£12,000 to £18,000

Starting price
£8000