Nepalese rupee

Rupees in Nepal and Pakistan were worth the same amount. Early banknotes which were issued between 1945 and 1955 during the rule of King Tribhuvan were put into circulation by the Sadar Muluki Khana (The Treasury) as Nepal did not have a Central Bank at that time. Notes issued under the reign of King Tribhuvan were therefore not signed by a bank governor, but by a Kajanchi (Head of the Treasury) who also serves as a Hindu high-priest. As such, Nepal’s early paper currency probably include the only bank-notes in the world which were signed by a high-priest. These early notes were printed by the Indian Security Press in Nashik and do not have any security features, except for watermarks and the special paper on which they are printed.

Starting with King Mahendra, who succeeded his father Tribhuvan in 1955, banknotes were issued by Nepal Rastra Bank (Nepal National Bank) which was founded on 26 April 1956. The signature of the governor of this institution is found on all banknotes which were issued after this date.

Under King Mahendra, the Nepalese Government became “His Majesty’s Government” (in Nepalese "Shri Paanch ko Sarkar”, literally; “the government of the five times honoured”) and remained this way during the rule of Birendra and Gyanendra. Two series of banknotes were issued during the rule of King Mahendra: The first series shows the King in civilian clothes wearing the Nepalese “topi”, while on the notes of the second series the King is shown in military uniform. The second series comprised higher denominations of 500 and 1000 rupees notes, which had not been issued before.

Five rupees coin (BS 2053)

During King Birendra’s rule, one can also distinguish between two major series of banknotes. The first series features the king wearing the military uniform while on the notes of the second series the king is wearing the traditional Nepalese crown adorned with feathers of the bird of paradise. During this period regular banknotes of 2 and 20 rupees and special banknotes of 25 and 250 rupees were issued for the first time. The legends found on the last issues of Gyanendra revert to Nepal sarkar ("Nepalese government"), thus omitting the reference to the king.

One rupee coin (2005)

One rupee coin (2009)

In October 2007, a 500-rupee note was issued on which the king’s portrait was replaced by Mt. Everest. This reflects the historic change from a kingdom to a republic which took place in May 2008 in Nepal. Further notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 rupees with Mt. Everest and without reference to the king in their legends followed in 2008. The first issues of the 500- and 1000-rupee notes were printed on paper which still had the king's crowned portrait as a watermark in the "window" on the right part of the face of the notes. It was decided to print a red Rhododendron flower (Nepal's national flower) on top of the watermark. Notes of these denominations which were issued in 2009 and thereafter are printed on paper which has a Rhododendron flower as watermark instead of the royal portrait and were therefore released without the additional overprint in red.