Trivia about India currency notes, & OJ Simpson | #124

Kulcha or moon? You decide 👉

Oct 01, 2022

Hello,

Here at IWTK, we do love our little traditions. One of those traditions is to dedicate the first issue of October to the father of the nation. In the past we’ve looked at Gandhi’s love for football and also controversial representations of Gandhi. In this week’s newsletter we reach into the worn-out leather wallet of trivia, and take a look at Gandhi’s association with currency notes and stamps.

Things we learnt this week 🤓

For most Indians, the visual representation of Mahatma Gandhi is in our currency notes. But Gandhi wasn’t always there. In fact his first appearance on a note was a guest appearance - The RBI issued a new series of notes with Gandhi on them to commemorate his 100th birth anniversary. Gandhi then reappeared in 1996 with his own series of notes which became the standard. Then in Nov 2016, the reboot of the Gandhi series happened and is the current standard to this day. There are no musical instruments on the notes due to his non-violins stance.

Mahatma Gandhi also has the distinction of being the first Indian to be depicted on a stamp post-Independence. The plan was put in place in Jan 1948, but as soon as the design process started, Gandhi was assassinated. Nehru asked for the words Bapu to be in Hindi and Urdu as a symbol of communal harmony. In an unusual twist, the man who extolled the values of Swadeshi, had his stamps made in Switzerland. And what’s worse, the stamp was priced at Rs 10, making it out of reach of the common man. A special version was made with the words ‘Service’ written on them, which was issued to C Rajagopalachari - only 100 such stamps were produced, making it the least printed stamp in the world. Everything about how the stamp was made in a foreign country, how it was priced, and then was made exclusively for the use of a very high ranked was antithetical to the ideals of Gandhism.

Gandhi and his service being honoured with a Rs 10 stamp in 1949

Mahatma Gandhi is one of the few Indians to have been commemorated on coins outside India. In 2008, South Africa issued a 1 Rand coin depicting a young Gandhi. In 2021, the United Kingdom issued a 5 pound coin depicting Gandhi on the occasion of Diwali. The UK issued a coin for Gandhi’s Sterling contribution.