100 Rupees

Nepal Rastra Bank was established in 1956, but the monarchy remained the symbolic anchor of the currency well into the 1970s — the issuing authority and the throne were effectively inseparable on Nepali notes of this period. This particular series followed the 1972 accession of Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev after the death of Mahendra, meaning the transition to a new royal portrait required a fresh printing contract with De La Rue rather than a simple overprint or surcharge.

De La Rue had held Nepal's banknote contracts through multiple reigns by this point, a relationship stretching back decades and never seriously contested by competing printers.