Outlined by a nation and pushed by commerce, a banknote — a promissory observe issued by a financial institution and payable to the bearer on demand — is many issues. For the longest time in historical past, the concept of cash was transactional, pivoting from barter methods to commodity trade equivalent to grain, metallic and metallic cash, and a type of paper cash in early Chinese language historical past.

The start of a banknote, and cash as we all know it now, occurred solely within the 18th century. Right this moment, banknotes are so ubiquitous that few realise it’s a pretty current phenomenon. And that they arrive with quite a lot of historical past. “India’s paper cash tells a narrative like no different,” explains Rezwan Razack, 70, a prolific banknote collector of over six many years and one of many nation’s main students of paper cash. In Might, he was felicitated by the Worldwide Financial institution Observe Society (IBNS) and inducted into their Corridor of Fame; he’s the primary Asian and Indian to obtain this uncommon honour. “It’s a sweeping saga of empires rising and falling, of republics being cast, of majestic monarchs, and the quiet energy of Mahatma Gandhi, of the hard-won struggle for Independence and the relentless spirit of innovation. To be a custodian of this legacy is a privilege.”

Razack’s assortment has been recognised by IBNS as probably the most complete assortment of Indian paper cash on the earth, “comprising one observe of every number of Paper Cash pertaining to India since inception to the current”. In response to the Bengaluru-based collector, this recognition is the end result of a lifelong obsession. “What started as wide-eyed surprise as a baby — a fascination for the colourful colors, intricate design and whispered tales hidden inside these skinny sheets of paper — grew to become a ardour for all times,” he shares. “Banknotes are canvases of historical past and portraits of various instances.”

With a slew of authored books and a glittering public museum — Rezwan Razack Museum of Indian Paper Cash — his journey of preservation and documentation is an ongoing one. And as India celebrates its 79th Independence Day, his work provides us an opportunity to return to the place it began.

₹500 ‘Oriental Financial institution’, 1840s

The earliest banknotes had been issued by personal banks. The Oriental Financial institution Company was based in Bombay and the vignette exhibits the City Corridor, at the moment referred to as the Asiatic Society of Mumbai City Corridor. Within the early days, cash was nonetheless printed in London.

₹10, Banque de l’Indochine, 1910

Poseidon, Greek god of the ocean, sits holding a trident on two sea snakes on this hanging blue observe of the Financial institution of Indochina established to advertise French mercantile pursuits. French colonial ambitions in India had been throttled early, however they continued in French Pondicherry. Discover the combination of French, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Urdu languages on this ‘Specimen’ observe.

₹1,000 ‘Uniface Observe’, 1918

Banknotes have all the time needed to maintain forward of ingenious forgers. On this early model for the federal government of India, the serial quantity 89697 needed to be repeated 4 instances as a safety measure.

₹5, Hyderabad State, 1919

Solely the Princely State of Hyderabad in British India was given the privilege of printing their very own forex. The Osmania banknotes, a few of the most stunning notes produced wherever, had been created throughout the reign of the Nizam of Hyderabad VII, Mir Osman Ali Khan.

₹100, ‘King George V’, 1927

The portrait of the monarch seems on the banknote from 1917 onwards. The ‘Lahore’ on this observe signifies the circle of subject and the subtle purple and inexperienced print, with its complexities, was a precursor to the intricate design one finds in banknotes at the moment.

₹5 ‘Cinco Rupias’, 1945

Issued by the Banco Nacional Ultramarino or the Nationwide Abroad Financial institution, on the brink of India’s Independence, this observe was used within the Portuguese colony of Goa. Discover the denomination in Rupia, later modified to Escudos, and the usage of Urdu, Marathi, Kannada and Hindi.

₹100 Haj Observe, Saudi Arabia, 1959

This extraordinarily uncommon, stunning banknote in hanging crimson was issued when the Indian Hajj Committee Act was created in 1959 for pilgrimage to Mecca. Though Haj notes had been issued after India’s independence, a bearer might trade it for riyals domestically and it facilitated the holy pilgrimage immensely. Later withdrawn, such notes had been exchanged in opposition to cash.

The author is the founder-director of Eka Archiving Companies.