New Delhi: Last year two rare Indian Rupee notes were sold for lakhs at a London auction. The rarity of the notes was not about them being over a century old notes, but due to a shipwreck.
We are talking about a pair of 10-rupee Indian banknotes which were recovered from the shipwreck of SS Shirala. The ship sank after it was struck by German U-boat on July 2, 1918.
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The Ship SS Shirala was bound to London from Bombay in 1918. The two 10-rupee banknotes, that were recovered from the wreckage, bore the date of 25 May 1918 on them.
On May 2024, the pair of notes were offered at Noonans Mayfair auction house in London as part of World Banknotes sale, with estimated GBP 2,000 and 2,600 auction value.Â
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RBI Master Circular On Selling Of Old Bank Notes Via Auction
Meanwhile, it must be noted that the RBI does not deal in matters pertaining to buying/ selling of old banknotes and coins.
In a Master circular on August 2021, the RBI cautioned the public not to fall prey to fictitious offers of buying/ selling of Old Banknotes and Coins.Â
RBI said, “it has come to the notice of Reserve Bank of India that certain elements are fraudulently using the name/ logo of Reserve Bank of India, and seeking charges/ commission/ tax from public, in transactions related to buying and selling of old banknotes and coins through various online/ offline platforms.”
RBI clarified that the central does not deal in such matters and never seeks charges/ commissions of any sort. Reserve Bank of India has also not authorised any institution/ firm/ person etc. to collect charges/ commission on its behalf in such transactions.
Reserve Bank of India advises members of public to remain cautious and not to fall prey to elements using the name of Reserve Bank of India to extract money through such fictitious/ fraudulent offers.