British India : Rupees Two Annas Eight - Currency Note of George V

[Figleaf]

A very unusual denomination, excellent condition and scarce provenance. No wonder this note would get interest in an exhibition. Thanks for showing it here, Abhay!

Peter

[FosseWay]

A very unusual denomination...

And even more unusual wording. Why that way round and not "Two rupees eight annas"?

There aren't many comparable notes in the British series since 2s 6d has been covered by a coin since Adam was a lad, but the British Armed Forces half-crown notes say "two shillings and sixpence" following the normal rules of English syntax.

[Bimat]

I have also seen a perfect unc example for sale for 4.5 Lacs! I rejected the offer as seller refused to accept payment by cheque..
Aditya

[Coinsforever]

This April, the note shown below sold for Rs. 75,000 + Commission + Taxes (About Rs. 85,000) in Todywala Auction.

The details of the note:
George V, Rupees 2 Annas 8 (2 & ½ Rupees), 1918, signed M. M. S. Gubbay, Prefix B for Bombay, (J&R 3.1B). Early restoration of two parts, Fine, Very Rare.

Considering that my note is still in one piece, and it is from Lahore (Lahore is considered to be rare among the 2 1/2 Rupee notes), I think, Rs. 90,000 was a very reasonable price. And as Aditya says, the present price for this condition of note is about Rs. 2.50 Lacs, it was not a bad decision.

Abhay

As usual excellent deal and undoubtedly the  current price to fetch much higher premium .

Apart from price  ,availability of such notes is big question mark , once in a while appearing such stuffs during auctions only.

Cheers

[Mackie]

This seller sold this fake note to some innocent buyer for 52250 INR (refer link 1) and obviously the buyer wasn't too pleased with the purchase. (See the second feedback in the link 2 )

Link 1 - http://www.ebay.in/itm/280896592878

link 2  - http://feedback.ebay.in/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=coin42012&iid=280896592878&de=off&items=25&which=negative&interval=365&_trkparms=negative_365

Later, after 10 days he again tried selling the same note but this time luckily no one bought it (link 3).

link 3 - http://cgi.ebay.in/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280908300571

[dheer]

The second time around he listed this as fancy replica ... having burnt his fingures with loosing money on the first one ...

[Abhay]

The replica note is nothing but a high resolution coloured xerox of an original note. Even for replica note, the price of Rs. 499 is too high. I think, it should not cost more than 20-25 rupees for a coloured xerox.

Abhay

[Bimat]

I think, it should not cost more than 20-25 rupees for a coloured xerox.

May be a good idea for the seller to also use the xerox tagline: 'Better than Original'...

Aditya

[paisepagal]

Although I do not collect British India Currency Notes, I had purchased this note a long time ago. My only purpose to purchase this note was that this note acts as a crowd puller, whenever any exhibition of Coins and Currency Notes is held.
Abhay

It takes a gem of a collector and a very strong familial backing to put in a substantial amount for purely educative purposes. That's a very admirable service to Indian numismatics.

[Mits]

How do I know if this is real?

[MWM]

Somehow i think its fake.

[Mits]

I think the same but want to understand how do I identify a real one. I have someone who will be showing me this physically and If convinvced I can give him an offer.

Also what would be a reasonable quote?

[Abhay]

You can look for the paper quality. These notes were printed in 1918, and therefore, are 94 years old.
If it is fake, the paper will be new.
Also, you can see the Watermark, which is a Star.
If it is the same note, which you have shown here, the Prefix is R, which stands for Rangoon (Burma - present Myanmar).
I think, Rangoon is comparatively rare, and for the condition of the note shown, the fair value should be around 2 to 2.5 Lac rupees.

Abhay

[sdchaugule]

Abhay's note is superb. I feel he paid on higher side. 
Secondly, avoid purchasing high valued notes and coins on ebay. Take informed decision.

[Enlil]

ow much is a Lac, I presume it is like but most likely not equal to Maan in cantonese that equals 10,000.