INDIA PRESIDENCY BANK NOTES

☆Bank of Madras☆

☆ Issuer: Bank of Madras 

☆ Date of Issue: 17th July 1849
☆ Signatory: Robert Hunter
☆ Serial No Style: Type A has space between No. and serial number with (Bell MT) Font
☆ Size: 195mm x 120mm
☆ Printer: Perkins, Bacons & Petch, London
☆Watermark: Bank of Madras in English/ Tamil script with double angular continuous border.

☆Obverse☆

Vignette of statue of sir Thomas Munro, Governor of Madras (1819-1827) at the centre, BANK OF MADRAS in semicircle above vignette in top centre panel , bank of madras in English, Persian, Telugu and Tamil on either of top panel, Numeric 10 in all four corner inside oval motif in four corners clockwise Arabic, English, Tamil and Telugu, Serial No below top panel in Type A format on right and left of centre panel , promissory text in centre panel with three digit printed date 184X format below promissory text on either side MADRAS in between the date. manuscript signature for the Bank of Madras by Secy. & Treasurer on right end of centre pane and manuscript signature Entd by accountant on left side above denomination in words TEN inside panel box. Perkins, Bacons & Petch, London patent hardened steel plate. Denomination in words Tamil/ Persian / Telugu / English in lower panel on either side separated by floral motif in centre

☆Reverse: Bank of Madras / Denomination in words TEN

☆Promissory Text☆ Promise to Pay the bearer on demand “Denomination in words”value received.

☆☆Special Note☆☆: Cancel blue stamp on obverse on either side of notes and two different notes with different serial number joined to together

☆☆About Bank of Madras☆☆

BANK OF MADRAS was established on 1 July 1843 and headquartered in the City of Madras. The Bank was formed as a joint stock company with a capital of Rupees 3 Million by the amalgamation of ‘The British Bank of Madras’ (1775), ‘Carnatic Bank’ (1788), ‘Asiatic Bank’ (1804) and ‘Madras Government Bank’ (1806).

BANK OF MADRAS started issuing banknotes on the same day of its incorporation. Compared to other two presidency banks, this bank issued least number of notes. Total number of notes issued by Bank of Madras from 1843 to 1861 was around 110,000, whereas Bank of Bombay issued more than 125,000 notes of just one type of 10 Rupees notes during that same period. Due to limited quantity of supply and smaller region of circulation, the notes issued by Bank of Madras are fundamentally rarer than those by other presidency banks.

Around 50,000 notes out of total issue of about 110,000 were issued in the first year of operations itself. The reason was to facilitate the replacement of banknotes issued by ‘Madras Government Bank’ with a deadline to exchange with newly issued Bank of Madras notes, on or before 31st January 1845.

☆☆About Signatory☆☆

Robert Hunter (5 November 1845–1860): Formerly a bill broker and a partner of Hunter Macgregor & co, a bankrupt firm, he became third Secretary & Treasurer of the Bank of Madras. He served this position for nearly 15 years. Due to his longer tenure, he has signed all denominations issued by the bank. Close observation of the notes reveals that he has not signed any notes in his first 4 years of holding this position. The earliest and last notes found with his signature are 10 April 1849 and 12th May 1860, respectively. He was from Calcutta.

(Article Courtesy and image Mr.Kedar)

☆References ☆
- IBNS Journal issue 56.2 article issued by Mr. Ramkumar