The first five (5) rupee notes were issued in Independent India on 26.01.1950,
(the day India became a Republic), under the signatures of Sir B.Rama Rau (RBI
Governor 01.07.1949 – 14.01.1957). These notes were 127 x 73 mm in size and
were green and brown predominantly, with a white water-mark window on the front
and back, with a few alphabets and numerals in white and black. On the front,
the serial number of the Note was given in the centre, below the denomination
of the Note “Five Rupees “mentioned in words.
The entire text on the note, including the denomination of the Note and the name of the Reserve Bank of India as well as the Governor’s promise to pay a sum of Rs. Five at any office of issue to the bearer were all mentioned in English only. On the right hand side was the Lion Capital of Emperor Asoka, which was now the symbol of sovereignty of the Government of India (without the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth always prevails).
On the back 8 Regional Languages were included in the centre with three antelopes with the RBI symbol on the left hand side enclosed in a panel and the denomination of the Note in another enclosed panel mentioned as “Rs.5”.
Then, in July 1951, Hindi was introduced on the front side, but only in the denomination of the note which was mentioned incorrectly as “Paanch Rupiya” (Rupiya stands for a singular rupee whereas the correct word would have been “Rupiye” - plural). The serial number now shifted to the bottom right hand side on the front side.
On the back, the two panels depicting the RBI symbol and the Rs.5 denomination were interchanged in their placements. Also, the number of antelopes was raised from three to six (Three antelopes in front as in the earlier notes and three in the background were added now, comprising a herd)
The error “rupiya” (singular) was rectified to “rupiye” (plural) in April 1953. I have one of these notes in my collection with the plural version, images of which are placed below for reference:
The value of this Note in mint condition would be around Rs.7500/- upwards.
During the tenure of HVR Iyengar (RBI Governor from 01.03.1957 to 28.02.1962) the shape of the water-mark windows were changed slightly both on the front and back, but the general design and language pattern was retained. The following two photos-images(contributed for this post by my sister Raka from her Notes collection), are of a five rupee note issued under HVR Iyengar’s signatures with an “A” Inset:
The value of a five rupee Note in mint condition issued during Mr.Iyengar’s tenure like the one given above would be around Rs.1200/- or so.
During the tenures of the next RBI Governors viz., P.C. Bhattacharya (RBI Governor: 01.03.1962 -30.06.1967), L.K.Jha (RBI Governor: 01.07.1957 – 03.05.1970), B.N.Adarkar (RBI Governor: 04.05.1970 – 15.06.1970) and S.Jagannathan (RBI Governor: 16.06.1970 – 19.05.1975), gradual changes in the design were introduced. On the front a large numeral “5” was introduced in the centre of the Note. Also the RBI Governor’s promise to pay a sum of Five Rupees to the bearer was introduced in Hindi along with the English version, with the English version of the Promise appearing on the right hand side. On the back, the number of Regional languages was increased from 8 to 13.
On the back, the antelopes were replaced variously by Sambhars, Gazelles and Black Bucks at different points of time. In 1969, when India was celebrating the Birth Centenary of Mahatma Gandhi, his image appeared sitting in a cross-legged posture reading a book. The value of these notes in mint condition would be between Rs.500/- to say about Rs.1000/- depending upon the Collector’s requirement.
Also, towards the end of RBI Governor S.Jagannathan’s tenure, a new design having a circular white watermark window both on the front and back, with the 13 Regional languages and the RBI monogram/logo moving to the front side was introduced. Also, the Hindi version of the RBI Governor’s promise to pay a sum of Five Rupees to the bearer of the Note appeared first on the left hand side of the Note, indicating the growing importance being accorded to the official language of India (English having been accorded the subsidiary/additional official language of India by the Policy makers). The name of the Issuing Authority “Bhartiya Reserve Bank” also appeared first on top of the Note in Hindi and then “Reserve Bank of India” in English below it.
With growing importance being given to Agriculture in the country, what with C.Subramanium having led the Green Revolution (Please refer my Post on his contribution to Indian Agriculture and the commemorative coin issued on him.the back of the new design showed a rising Sun and a farmer ploughing his fields with a tractor having modern Agricultural equipment to facilitate him in growing more food crops.
This new design was continued during the tenures of N.C.Sengupta (RBI Governor: 19.05.1975 – 19.08.1975), K.R.Puri (RBI Governor: 20.08.1975 – 21.05.1977), M.Narasimhan (RBI Governor: 02.05.1977 – 30.11.1977), I.G.Patel (RBI Governor: 01.12.1977 – 15.09.1982), Manmohan Singh (RBI Governor: 16.09.1982 – 14.01.1985), Amitav Ghosh (RBI Governor: 15.01.1985 – 04.02.1985), R.N.Malhotra (RBI Governor: 04.02.1985 – 22.12.1990), S.Venkitaramanan (RBI Governor: 22.12.1990 – 21.12.1992), C.Rangarajan (RBI Governor: 22.12.1992 – 22.11.1997) and Bimal Jalan (RBI Governor : 22.11.1997 – 06.09.2003) Also, during the tenure of R.N Malhotra, the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth Always Prevails) were added below the Lion Capital on the right hand side as part of the Government of India’s emblem. The value of these Notes would be about Rs.50/- to say about Rs.500/- for mint condition notes, depending upon a Collector’s requirement.
The above is a front image of a five rupee note issued under R.N. Malhotra’s signatures having an “F” Inset in its serial number. Notice that the Panel containing the Lion Capital has a dark background with no "Satyameva Jayate"(Truth always Prevails"). Also, “Bhartiya Reserve Bank” in Hindi appears above “Reserve Bank of India” in English on the centre-top of the Note. Also notice that the Hindi version of the RBI Governor’s promise to pay a sum of Five Rupees to the bearer of the Note appeared first on the left hand side of the Note, followed by the English version of the Promise to its right. Also, the Governor’s signatures are made both in Hindi and English, a convention which was introduced by the RBI during L.K Jha’s tenure.
The above is a front side image of a five rupee note issued under R.N.Malhotra’s signatures with an “A” Inset, having the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth Always Prevails) inscribed below the Lion Capital.
Also notice that the background colour in the Panel containing the Lion Capital has become a much lighter shade to enable easy recognition of the words “Satyameva Jayate”.
An image of a five rupee note issued during the tenure of S.Venkitaramanan with a “B” Inset, exhibiting all the other features of the above Note.
An image of a five rupee note issued under Bimal Jalan’s signatures with a Plain Inset also exhibiting all the other features of the two notes above. However, the note issued during Bimal Jalan’s tenure has fifteen Regional Languages on right hand side of the Lion Capital.
The design on the back of all the three Notes mentioned above showing a rising Sun and a farmer ploughing his fields with a tractor having modern Agricultural equipment to facilitate him in growing more food crops. None of these Notes has the year of issue mentioned at the back. The first time that the year of issue was mentioned on the back of five rupee notes, was only in 2009 during the tenure of D.Subbarao, the present RBI Governor.
An image of a Rs.Five Banknote issued
during Bimal Jalan's tenure ending in the numerals "786", issued with a
Plain inset, contributed for my collection by Krishna Tonpe.
The Back of the above Banknote.
A design change took place during Bimal Jalan’s tenure, wherein the image of Mahatma Gandhi appeared on the right hand side of the front of the Note. The fifteen Regional Languages moved to the back of the Note into a Languages Panel. The Lion Capital moved to the bottom left of the new design and The RBI logo shifted to the right hand side of the Mahatma Gandhi portrait. The circular watermark window on both the front and back was converted into a stylized D design. An interesting feature is that the “mesh design” behind Mahatma Gandhi’s Head is actually “RBI” written in very fine print which appears as a mesh design. On the back, the rising sun and farmer ploughing a Tractor in a field was retained, in continuing with the constant emphasis on growing more food crops/grains.
The above image exhibits the new design and has been issued during Bimal Jalan’s tenure with a “Plain Inset”.
The back of the above Note exhibiting a mix of the old and new design features as explained above.
An image of a five rupee Note packet with its plastic band intact issued during Bimal Jalan’s tenure with an “L” Inset. I happen to have this packet in my collection.
The back of the above Note packet.
The front of a note issued under Bimal Jalan’s signatures with an”R” Inset.
These were the only three Inset styles under which five rupee notes were issued during Bimal Jalan’s tenure. The value of the notes issues during Bimal Jalan’s tenure would be about Rs.50/- or less. You may come across these Notes in Present day circulation for your collection.
During the tenure of Y.V.Reddy (RBI Governor 06.09.2003 – 05.09.2008) five rupee notes were issued under his signatures with “Plain”, “L” and “R” Insets. The value of these Notes would be around the same as the notes issued during Bimal Jalan’s tenure.
The above is an image of a five rupee Note issued with an "L" inset during the tenure of Y.V.Reddy.
The above is an image of a five rupee note issued during the tenure of D. Subbarao, (the present RBI Governor: wef 06.09.2008) with an “E” Inset in 2009.
The back of the above note, showing the year of issue for the first time as 2009.
An image of a five Rupee Note issued under Dr.Subbarao’s signatures during 2009 with an “L” Inset. “L” Inset notes were also issued in 2010 under Dr. Subbarao’s signatures.
The back of the above Note showing the year of issue as 2009.
A five rupee note issued with a “Plain Inset” in 2010, under Dr. Subbarao’s signatures.
The back of the above Note showing the year of issue as 2010.
The value of these Notes in mint condition issued under Dr. Subbarao’s tenure would be below Rs.25/- to face value.
The entire text on the note, including the denomination of the Note and the name of the Reserve Bank of India as well as the Governor’s promise to pay a sum of Rs. Five at any office of issue to the bearer were all mentioned in English only. On the right hand side was the Lion Capital of Emperor Asoka, which was now the symbol of sovereignty of the Government of India (without the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth always prevails).
On the back 8 Regional Languages were included in the centre with three antelopes with the RBI symbol on the left hand side enclosed in a panel and the denomination of the Note in another enclosed panel mentioned as “Rs.5”.
Then, in July 1951, Hindi was introduced on the front side, but only in the denomination of the note which was mentioned incorrectly as “Paanch Rupiya” (Rupiya stands for a singular rupee whereas the correct word would have been “Rupiye” - plural). The serial number now shifted to the bottom right hand side on the front side.
On the back, the two panels depicting the RBI symbol and the Rs.5 denomination were interchanged in their placements. Also, the number of antelopes was raised from three to six (Three antelopes in front as in the earlier notes and three in the background were added now, comprising a herd)
The error “rupiya” (singular) was rectified to “rupiye” (plural) in April 1953. I have one of these notes in my collection with the plural version, images of which are placed below for reference:
The value of this Note in mint condition would be around Rs.7500/- upwards.
During the tenure of HVR Iyengar (RBI Governor from 01.03.1957 to 28.02.1962) the shape of the water-mark windows were changed slightly both on the front and back, but the general design and language pattern was retained. The following two photos-images(contributed for this post by my sister Raka from her Notes collection), are of a five rupee note issued under HVR Iyengar’s signatures with an “A” Inset:
The value of a five rupee Note in mint condition issued during Mr.Iyengar’s tenure like the one given above would be around Rs.1200/- or so.
During the tenures of the next RBI Governors viz., P.C. Bhattacharya (RBI Governor: 01.03.1962 -30.06.1967), L.K.Jha (RBI Governor: 01.07.1957 – 03.05.1970), B.N.Adarkar (RBI Governor: 04.05.1970 – 15.06.1970) and S.Jagannathan (RBI Governor: 16.06.1970 – 19.05.1975), gradual changes in the design were introduced. On the front a large numeral “5” was introduced in the centre of the Note. Also the RBI Governor’s promise to pay a sum of Five Rupees to the bearer was introduced in Hindi along with the English version, with the English version of the Promise appearing on the right hand side. On the back, the number of Regional languages was increased from 8 to 13.
On the back, the antelopes were replaced variously by Sambhars, Gazelles and Black Bucks at different points of time. In 1969, when India was celebrating the Birth Centenary of Mahatma Gandhi, his image appeared sitting in a cross-legged posture reading a book. The value of these notes in mint condition would be between Rs.500/- to say about Rs.1000/- depending upon the Collector’s requirement.
Also, towards the end of RBI Governor S.Jagannathan’s tenure, a new design having a circular white watermark window both on the front and back, with the 13 Regional languages and the RBI monogram/logo moving to the front side was introduced. Also, the Hindi version of the RBI Governor’s promise to pay a sum of Five Rupees to the bearer of the Note appeared first on the left hand side of the Note, indicating the growing importance being accorded to the official language of India (English having been accorded the subsidiary/additional official language of India by the Policy makers). The name of the Issuing Authority “Bhartiya Reserve Bank” also appeared first on top of the Note in Hindi and then “Reserve Bank of India” in English below it.
With growing importance being given to Agriculture in the country, what with C.Subramanium having led the Green Revolution (Please refer my Post on his contribution to Indian Agriculture and the commemorative coin issued on him.the back of the new design showed a rising Sun and a farmer ploughing his fields with a tractor having modern Agricultural equipment to facilitate him in growing more food crops.
This new design was continued during the tenures of N.C.Sengupta (RBI Governor: 19.05.1975 – 19.08.1975), K.R.Puri (RBI Governor: 20.08.1975 – 21.05.1977), M.Narasimhan (RBI Governor: 02.05.1977 – 30.11.1977), I.G.Patel (RBI Governor: 01.12.1977 – 15.09.1982), Manmohan Singh (RBI Governor: 16.09.1982 – 14.01.1985), Amitav Ghosh (RBI Governor: 15.01.1985 – 04.02.1985), R.N.Malhotra (RBI Governor: 04.02.1985 – 22.12.1990), S.Venkitaramanan (RBI Governor: 22.12.1990 – 21.12.1992), C.Rangarajan (RBI Governor: 22.12.1992 – 22.11.1997) and Bimal Jalan (RBI Governor : 22.11.1997 – 06.09.2003) Also, during the tenure of R.N Malhotra, the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth Always Prevails) were added below the Lion Capital on the right hand side as part of the Government of India’s emblem. The value of these Notes would be about Rs.50/- to say about Rs.500/- for mint condition notes, depending upon a Collector’s requirement.
The above is a front image of a five rupee note issued under R.N. Malhotra’s signatures having an “F” Inset in its serial number. Notice that the Panel containing the Lion Capital has a dark background with no "Satyameva Jayate"(Truth always Prevails"). Also, “Bhartiya Reserve Bank” in Hindi appears above “Reserve Bank of India” in English on the centre-top of the Note. Also notice that the Hindi version of the RBI Governor’s promise to pay a sum of Five Rupees to the bearer of the Note appeared first on the left hand side of the Note, followed by the English version of the Promise to its right. Also, the Governor’s signatures are made both in Hindi and English, a convention which was introduced by the RBI during L.K Jha’s tenure.
The above is a front side image of a five rupee note issued under R.N.Malhotra’s signatures with an “A” Inset, having the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth Always Prevails) inscribed below the Lion Capital.
Also notice that the background colour in the Panel containing the Lion Capital has become a much lighter shade to enable easy recognition of the words “Satyameva Jayate”.
An image of a five rupee note issued during the tenure of S.Venkitaramanan with a “B” Inset, exhibiting all the other features of the above Note.
An image of a five rupee note issued under Bimal Jalan’s signatures with a Plain Inset also exhibiting all the other features of the two notes above. However, the note issued during Bimal Jalan’s tenure has fifteen Regional Languages on right hand side of the Lion Capital.
The design on the back of all the three Notes mentioned above showing a rising Sun and a farmer ploughing his fields with a tractor having modern Agricultural equipment to facilitate him in growing more food crops. None of these Notes has the year of issue mentioned at the back. The first time that the year of issue was mentioned on the back of five rupee notes, was only in 2009 during the tenure of D.Subbarao, the present RBI Governor.
An image of a Rs.Five Banknote issued
during Bimal Jalan's tenure ending in the numerals "786", issued with a
Plain inset, contributed for my collection by Krishna Tonpe.
The Back of the above Banknote.
A design change took place during Bimal Jalan’s tenure, wherein the image of Mahatma Gandhi appeared on the right hand side of the front of the Note. The fifteen Regional Languages moved to the back of the Note into a Languages Panel. The Lion Capital moved to the bottom left of the new design and The RBI logo shifted to the right hand side of the Mahatma Gandhi portrait. The circular watermark window on both the front and back was converted into a stylized D design. An interesting feature is that the “mesh design” behind Mahatma Gandhi’s Head is actually “RBI” written in very fine print which appears as a mesh design. On the back, the rising sun and farmer ploughing a Tractor in a field was retained, in continuing with the constant emphasis on growing more food crops/grains.
The above image exhibits the new design and has been issued during Bimal Jalan’s tenure with a “Plain Inset”.
The back of the above Note exhibiting a mix of the old and new design features as explained above.
An image of a five rupee Note packet with its plastic band intact issued during Bimal Jalan’s tenure with an “L” Inset. I happen to have this packet in my collection.
The back of the above Note packet.
The front of a note issued under Bimal Jalan’s signatures with an”R” Inset.
These were the only three Inset styles under which five rupee notes were issued during Bimal Jalan’s tenure. The value of the notes issues during Bimal Jalan’s tenure would be about Rs.50/- or less. You may come across these Notes in Present day circulation for your collection.
During the tenure of Y.V.Reddy (RBI Governor 06.09.2003 – 05.09.2008) five rupee notes were issued under his signatures with “Plain”, “L” and “R” Insets. The value of these Notes would be around the same as the notes issued during Bimal Jalan’s tenure.
The above is an image of a five rupee Note issued with an "L" inset during the tenure of Y.V.Reddy.
The above is an image of a five rupee note issued during the tenure of D. Subbarao, (the present RBI Governor: wef 06.09.2008) with an “E” Inset in 2009.
The back of the above note, showing the year of issue for the first time as 2009.
An image of a five Rupee Note issued under Dr.Subbarao’s signatures during 2009 with an “L” Inset. “L” Inset notes were also issued in 2010 under Dr. Subbarao’s signatures.
The back of the above Note showing the year of issue as 2009.
A five rupee note issued with a “Plain Inset” in 2010, under Dr. Subbarao’s signatures.
The back of the above Note showing the year of issue as 2010.
The value of these Notes in mint condition issued under Dr. Subbarao’s tenure would be below Rs.25/- to face value.
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