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1/2 Rufiyaa / 50 Laari
| Issuer | Maldivian State |
|---|---|
| Year | 1947 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Multicolour note with an elaborate guilloche border in orange-pink tones. Central oval vignette shows a palm-fringed beach scene with a dhoni under sail on calm waters. Arabic inscriptions appear in a cartouche at the top and in a horizontal band across the centre, with the fractional denomination numeral "1/2" printed in green at each upper corner; serial number and date appear at the lower portion. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Essentially unprinted, with a faint ghost impression of the obverse vignette visible as a show-through from the central beach and palm tree design; no deliberate reverse printing is present. |
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| Comments |
Pick 1 is the first banknote ever issued by the Maldives — prior to 1947, the islands relied entirely on metallic currency, with locally minted copper and silver coins serving the atoll economy for centuries. The decision to introduce paper money came under British influence during the protectorate period, and Bradbury Wilkinson produced the note to the same technical standard they applied to colonial currency work across the Empire.
The denomination itself reflects the transitional monetary arithmetic of the time: the Rufiyaa was divided into 100 Laari, making this a half-unit note in a system that had only just been formally codified for paper issue.