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5 Rupees Military Administration
| Issuer | Reserve Bank of India |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Portrait of King George VI in right profile, wearing the Imperial State Crown, set within an intaglio vignette at right; the centre field bears the overprint 'Military Administration of Burma' at top and the legend 'Legal Tender in Burma Only' in bold letterpress. A blank unprinted panel occupies the left portion of the note, with corner numerals '5' and foliate guilloche borders framing the design. The Governor's signature appears at lower centre above the issuing authority designation. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central vignette at left consists of an elaborate circular guilloche medallion enclosing the numeral '5' above the words 'Five Rupees', all within a fine lathe-work border. The centre panel carries the denomination rendered in multiple Indian scripts — Hindi, Bengali, Burmese, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Urdu — arranged in vertical sequence. A circular seal vignette depicting a palm tree appears at right, surrounded by additional guilloche framework. |
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| Comments |
The Military Administration rupee notes were issued to service British and Allied forces operating in the Burma campaign. Overprinted on standard Reserve Bank of India stock, they were intended to prevent currency captured by Japanese forces from being used outside the military zone — a precaution that followed the fall of Singapore in 1942, which had exposed how dangerous uncontrolled currency could be in enemy hands.
C.D. Deshmukh was the first Indian Governor of the RBI, appointed in 1943, making his signature on wartime military issue notes a small historical coincidence worth noting. Taylor served as Finance Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council.