R1

INDIA - Persian Gulf

Value

1 Rupee

Issued by

Government of India

Date

1957 (released 1959)

Signature

A. K. Roy

Series

Z

Purpose

"Gulf Rupee" - for circulation in the Persian/Arabian Gulf
During British rule and until the 1960ies, most of the countries in this area did not have their own currencies.Given the great amount of trade between India and the Persian Gulf countries, using the Indian Rupee was a natural choice. Prior to 1957, Persian Gulf banks collected Indian Rupees and presented them to the Reserve Bank of India to be converted into foreign currencies. In 1957, India imposed strict foreign exchange controls. It became very important for the Reserve Bank of India to know and control the flow of Indian rupees being used outside India. This necessitated changing the existing currency exchange arrangements India had with the Persian Gulf countries. A separate series of Indian banknotes was released for exclusive use in the Persian Gulf countries.
In 1959 new notes were released into circulation (Rp. 1, 5, 10 & 100). The design of these notes was the same as the circulating Indian banknotes, but prefix letter "Z" was used and the colors changed.

for similar notes for circulation in India, see INDIA P-75


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