Banknote presentation
The 5 rupees Type 1918 is a single-sided note. This was issued from 1908 to 1918 by the Government of India under British administration. It was printed by the Bank of England in London. The watermark consists of lines in the shape of waves and the text "India 5 rupees 5". Its dimensions are 176 x 108 mm. The front is printed in red and black. The banknote has some particularities presented below:
The 4 known types
| Reference | Dates | Particularities |
| PA4 / B130 | 1905-1907 | 6 language panels. 4 serial numbers red under print. Letters from 3 Indian offices (B, C and L). Text: "... at any Office of Issue not situated in Burma". |
|---|---|---|
| PA5 / B131 | 1907-1915 | 8 language panels. 4 serial numbers red under print. Letters from 3 Indian offices (B, C and L). Text: "... at any Office of Issue the sum of Rupees". |
| PA6 / B132 | 1915-1916 | 8 language panels. 3 serial numbers red under print. Letters from 7 Indian offices (A, B, C, K, L, M and R). Text: "... at any Office of Issue the sum of Rupees". |
| PA6 / B132 | 1918-1924 | 8 language panels. 3 serial numbers red under print. No letters from offices. Text: "... at any Office of Issue the sum of Rupees". |
See the article "India Series A Banknotes" published by on Banknote Index.
Offices letters
- A = Cawnpore
- B = Bombay
- C = Calcutta
- K = Karachi
- L = Lahore
- M = Madras
- R = Rangoon
- V = Lahore (unconfirmed)
- W = Cawnpore (unconfirmed)
- Y = Lahore (unconfirmed)
A banknote for sale on ebay!
A copy dated December 12, 1918 (Ref. Pick: # PA6 or TBB: # B132) signed Moses Mordecal Simeon Gubbay has been on sale for several days on ebay (ebay item: # 233666291282).
Numizon inventory
The banknote for sale does not include a counter letter. The known series for this variant are: BE, GC, GD, ND, PD, SD and RD, but we have not found these last two groups of letters (SD and RD)! The banknote was issued between October 25, 1918 (series BE56) and February 14, 1920 (series GD13). Numizon inventory counts for the moment only 30 copies. The 5 Rupees Type 1918 is quite rare especially in good grade. A PMG 53 About UNC graded note realized the price of $ 2,280 at Stack's Bowers in 2018 (lot #50194). It is also the only note known in the archives for this auction house. Heritage Auctions only sold 14 copies. In France, cgb.fr has only offered one copy... since 1995!
| References (1) | Date | Serie | Number | Grade | Price | Sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 25/10/1918 | BE56 | 163298 | VF | 650£ | Londoncoins, 2017, auction #159 (lot #1733) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 29/10/1918 | BE59 | 577081 | - | - | See on banknoteindex.com |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 29/10/1918 | BE59 | 954209 | PMG 30 VF | 456$ | Heritage Auctions, 2020 (lot #28863) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 30/10/1918 | BE60 | 494735 | - | - | See on mintageworld.com |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 01/11/1918 | BE62 | 080324 | PMG 30 VF | 456$ | Heritage Auctions, 2020 (lot #28864) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 01/11/1918 | BE62 | 087911 | PMG 30 VF | 456$ | Heritage Auctions, 2020 (lot #28865) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 01/11/1918 | BE62 | 089344 | PMG 25 VF | 384$ | Heritage Auctions, 2020 (lot #28867) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 01/11/1918 | BE62 | 104549 | PMG 25 VF | 432$ | Heritage Auctions, 2020 (lot #28868) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 01/11/1918 | BE62 | 521111 | PCGS 25 VF | 720$ | Heritage Auctions, 2019 (lot #28056) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 08/11/1918 | PD55 | 692488 | VF | - | See on chennai.indialisted.com |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 08/11/1918 | PD55 | 692489 | VF | - | See on chennai.indialisted.com |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 08/11/1918 | PD59 | 467494 | - | - | See on the web |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 08/11/1918 | PD59 | 763657 | - | - | See on the web |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 13/11/1918 | PD63 | 873816 | F | 73€ | cgb.fr (lot #b27_0364) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 28/11/1918 | ND70 | 474669 | PMG 25 VF | 600$ | Heritage Auctions, 2019 (lot #28057) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 30/11/1918 | ND72 | 013664 | VF | - | Spink 2016 (lot #778) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 30/11/1918 | ND72 | 231623 | PMG 15 VF | 288$ | Heritage Auctions, 2020 (lot #28872) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 30/11/1918 | ND72 | 248587 | PMG 20 VF | 408$ | Heritage Auctions, 2020 (lot #28870) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 30/11/1918 | ND72 | 259345 | PMG 20 VF | 336$ | Heritage Auctions, 2020 (lot #28871) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 30/11/1918 | ND72 | 278540 | PMG 25 VF | 456$ | Heritage Auctions, 2020 (lot #28869) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 30/11/1918 | ND72 | 293589 | PMG 30 VF | 480$ | Heritage Auctions, 2020 (lot #28866) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 02/12/1918 | ND73 | 124640 | PMG 50 About UNC | 1680$ | Heritage Auctions, 2019 (lot #28054) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 04/12/1918 | ND75 | 621786 | VF+ | - | See on webclassicalnumismaticgallery.com |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 12/12/1918 | GC15 | 759629 | VF | 250£ | Banknote for sale on eBay in August 2020 |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 26/12/1918 | GC26 | 974076 | F | - | See on banknoteindex.com |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 20/01/1919 | GC47 | 165544 | PMG 35 Choice VF | - | See on marudhararts.com (lot #931) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 06/01/1920 | GC78 | 379242 | PMG 53 About UNC | 2280$ | Stack's Bowers, 2018 (lot #50194) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 06/01/1920 | GC78 | 379251 | PMG 50 About UNC | 1500$ | Heritage Auctions, 2019 (lot #28055) |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 07/01/1920 | GC95 | 493572 | - | - | Banknote book picture |
| #P.A6g / #B132s1 / Jhun&Raz 2A.1.6.1 | 14/02/1920 | GD13 | 795782 | F | 1599$ | Banknote for sale on eBay in August 2020 |
Notes
(1) Catalog references of the inventoried note:
- Pick = PA6g
- The Banknote Book = B132s1
- Jhunjhunwalla-Razack = 2A.1.6.1
Our sources
- « The Banknote Book: India » by Owen W. Linzmeyer.
- « India » Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, 1368-1960, 12e édition (pages 704 et 705).
- « Revised Standard Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money » by Kishore Jhunjhunwalla & Rezwan Razack.
- cgb.fr sales archives.
- Heritage Auctions sales archives.
- Stack's Bowers sales archives.
