House of Line Art: Pakistan Currency Notes (1947-2019)

Currency of Pakistan

Introduction

1.1 Etymology

1650s, "condition of flowing," from Latin currens, present participle of currere "to run" (see current (adj.)); the sense of a flow or course extended 1699 (by John Locke) to "circulation of money."

1.2 Orign

A currency (from Middle English: curraunt, "in circulation", from Latin: currens, -entis) in the most specific use of the word refers to money in any form when in actual use or circulation as a medium of exchange, especially circulating banknotes and coins.

1.3 Mythology

Early Debasements of the coin. Questions to be considered on such occasions. Rise in prices in the Reign of Elizabeth, in consequence of the Discovery of the fertile Silver Mines of America. Its influence of Progress of the Coin in the Mines of America Disappearance of Gold and Silver Coin in the Reign of James the First, and apparent Scarcity of Money. Gradual Debasement of the Coin from Neglect to Keep up its Weight. Method of Estimating the Deviation of the Coinage from the Standard Value. Explanation of the terms Mint and Market Price of the Precious Metals, and Rise and Fall of the Exchange. Evidence of William the Third of the Dependence of Prices on the Extent of the Currency. Effect of this Depreciation on the Industry of the Country.

1.4 Pakistan Rupee

The Pakistani rupee (Urdu: روپیہ‎ / ALA-LC: Rūpiyah; sign: ₨; code: PKR) is the currency of Pakistan. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank of the country. The most commonly used symbol for the rupee is Rs, used on receipts when purchasing goods and services.

In Pakistan, the rupee is also spelled as "rupees", "rupaya" or "rupaye". As standard in Pakistani English, large values of rupees are counted in terms of thousands, lakh (100 thousand) and crore (10 million), 1 Arab (1 billion), 1 Kharab (100 billion).

1.5 History of Rupee

The word rūpiya is derived from the Sanskrit word rūpya, which means "wrought silver, a coin of silver", in origin an adjective meaning "shapely", with a more specific meaning of "stamped, impressed", whence "coin". It is` derived from the noun rūpa "shape, likeness, image". Rūpaya was used to denote the coin introduced by Sher Shah Suri during his reign from 1540 to 1545 CE.

The Pakistani rupee was put into circulation in Pakistan after the dissolution of the British Raj in 1947. Initially, Pakistan used British Indian coins and notes simply over-stamped with "Pakistan". New coins and banknotes were issued in 1948. Like the Indian rupee, it was originally divided into 16 annas, each of 4 pice or 12 pie. The currency was decimalised on 1 January 1961, with the rupee subdivided into 100 pice, renamed (in English) paise (singular paisa) later the same year. However, coins denominated in paise have not been issued since 1994.

1.6 Coins

In 1948, coins were introduced in denominations of 1 pice, ¹⁄₂, 1 and 2 annas, ¹⁄₄, ¹⁄₂ and 1 rupee. 1 pie coins were added in 1951. In 1961, coins for 1, 5 and 10 pice were issued, followed later the same year by 1 paisa, 5 and 10 paise coins. In 1963, 10 and 25 paise coins were introduced, followed by 2 paise the next year. 1 rupee coins were reintroduced in 1979, followed by 2 rupees in 1998 and 5 rupees in 2002. 2 paise coins were last minted in 1976, with 1 paisa coins ceasing production in 1979. The 5, 10, 25 and 50 paise all ceased production in 1996. There are two variations of 2 rupee coins; most have clouds above the Badshahi Masjid but many don't. The one and two rupee coins were changed to aluminium in 2007.

Paisa coins ceased to be legal tender in 2013, leaving Rs. 1 coin as the minimum legal tender. On 15 October 2015, the Pakistani government introduced a revised 5 rupee coin with a reduced size and weight and having a golden color, being made from a composition of copper-nickel-zinc, and also a Rs.10 coin was introduced in circulation.

1.7 Banknotes

On 1 April 1948, provisional notes were issued by the Reserve Bank of India and the Government of India on behalf of the Government of Pakistan, for use exclusively within Pakistan, without the possibility of redemption in India. Printed by the India Security Press in Nasik, these notes consist of Indian note plates engraved (not overprinted) with the words GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN in English and "Hukumat-e-Pakistan" in Urdu added at the top and bottom, respectively, of the watermark area on the front only; the signatures on these notes remain those of Indian banking and finance officials.

Regular government issues commenced in 1948 in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 100 rupees. The government continued to issue 1 rupee notes until the 1980s but other note issuing was taken over by the State Bank of Pakistan in 1953, when 2, 5, 10 and 100 rupees notes were issued. Only a few 2 rupees notes were issued. 50 rupees notes were added in 1957, with 2 rupees notes reintroduced in 1985. In 1986, 500 rupees notes were introduced, followed by 1000 rupees the next year. 2 and 5 rupees notes were replaced by coins in 1998 and 2002. 20 rupee notes were added in 2005, followed by 5000 rupees in 2006. Until 1971, Pakistani banknotes were bilingual, featuring Bengali translation of the Urdu text (where the currency was called taka instead of rupee), since Bengali was the state language of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

All banknotes other than the 1 and 2 rupees feature a portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah on the obverse along with writing in Urdu. The reverses of the banknotes vary in design and have English text. The only Urdu text found on the reverse is the Urdu translation of the Prophetic Hadith, "Seeking honest livelihood is worship of God." which is حصول رزق حلال عبادت ہے (Hasool-e-Rizq-e-Halal Ibaadat hai).

The banknotes vary in size and colour, with larger denominations being longer than smaller ones. All contain multiple colours. However, each denomination does have one colour which predominates. All banknotes feature a watermark for security purposes. On the larger denomination notes, the watermark is a picture of Jinnah, while on smaller notes, it is a crescent and star. Different types of security threads are also present in each banknote.

Banknotes before the 2005 Series
Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Main Colour	Status
₨ 1	95 × 66 mm	Brown	Tomb of Muhammad Iqbal in Lahore	No longer in Circulation
₨ 2	109 × 66 mm	Purple	Badshahi Masjid in Lahore
₨ 5	127 × 73 mm	Burgundy	Khojak Tunnel in Balochistan
₨ 10	141 × 73 mm	Green	Mohenjo-daro in Larkana District	No longer printed – Still in Circulation
₨ 50	154 × 73 mm	Purple and Red	Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort in Lahore
₨ 100	165 × 73 mm	Red and Orange	Islamia College in Peshawar
₨ 500	175 × 73 mm	Green, tan, red, and orange	The State Bank of Pakistan in Islamabad	No longer in Circulation
₨ 1000	175 × 73 mm	Blue	Tomb of Jahangir in Lahore	No longer in Circulation

The State Bank has started a new series of banknotes, phasing out the older designs for new, more secure ones.

2005 Series
Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description		Period
Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Period
₨ 5	115 × 65 mm	Greenish Grey	Muhammad Ali Jinnah	Gwadar port, which is a mega project in Balochistan (Pakistan)	8 July 2008 – 31 December 2012
₨ 10	115 × 65 mm	Green		Bab ul Khyber which is the entrance to the Khyber Pass, Khyber Agency, FATA	27 May 2006 – present
₨ 20	123 × 65 mm	Brown/Orange Green		Mohenjo-daro in Larkana District	22 March 2008 – present
₨ 50	131 × 65 mm	Purple		K2, second highest mountain of the world in northern areas of Pakistan	8 July 2008 – present
₨ 100	139 × 65 mm	Red		Quaid-e-Azam Residency in Ziarat	11 November 2006 – present
₨ 500	147 × 65 mm	Rich Deep Green		Badshahi Masjid in Lahore
₨ 1000	155 × 65 mm	Dark blue		Islamia College in Peshawar	26 February 2007 – present
₨ 5000	163 × 65 mm	Mustard		Faisal Masjid in Islamabad	27 May 2006 – present

(*Recently the State Bank revised the ₨ 20 banknote, after complaints of its similarity to the ₨ 5000, which caused a lot of confusion and financial losses, when people gave out ₨ 5000 notes, thinking them to be ₨ 20 notes)

Internet Source

Online Etymology Dictionary

Dictionary.com

Wikipedia(State Bank of Pakistan)

Book Source

History of Currency by S.A.Maclare in 1857.