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Nepalese rupee

रुपैयाँ (Nepali)
ISO 4217
Code	NPR (numeric: 524)
Subunit	0.01
Unit
Symbol	रु.‎
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	Paisa
Banknotes
Freq. used	रु. 5, रु. 10, रु. 20, रु. 50, रु. 100, रु. 500, रु. 1000
Rarely used	रु. 1, रु. 2, रु. 25, रु. 250
Coins
Freq. used	रु. 1, रु. 2
Rarely used	1, 5, 10, 25, 50 paisa, रु. 5, रु. 10
Demographics
Date of introduction	1932
Replaced	Nepalese mohar
User(s)	Kingdom of Nepal (1932–2008),    Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (2008–present)
Issuance
Central bank	Nepal Rastra Bank
Website	www.nrb.org.np
Valuation
Inflation	3.6% (2021)
Source	Statista
Pegged with	Indian rupee (₹) ₹1 = रु.1.60 (buy) ₹1 = रु.1.6015 (sell)

The Nepali rupee (Nepali: रुपैयाँ, Roman: Rupaiyām̐; symbol: रु.; code: NPR) is the official currency of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The Nepali rupee is subdivided into 100 paisa. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of Nepal. The Nepali rupee was introduced in 1932 when it replaced the Nepali mohar at the rate 2:1.

The Nepali rupee (रु.) has been pegged to the Indian rupee (₹) at the rate रु.1.60 = ₹1 since 1994; prior to this, it had been pegged at the rate रु.1.45 = ₹1.

History

The rupee was introduced in 1932, replacing the silver mohar at a rate of 2 mohar = 1 rupee. At first, the rupee was called the Mohru in Nepali.

The "Bullet paisa"

In 1955, 4 Paisa coins were minted, made from rifle cartridge cases from World War II that were used by the Gurkha soldiers who fought against the Imperial Japanese in the Pacific. The coins were produced by removing the primer from the cases and the cases were then converted into the 4 Paisa coins to commemorate the Gurkha's courage and victory during the war.

Due to the small number of cases found, these coins were minted for one year only.

They are known as the "Nepal Bullet Paisa".

1972–2007

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 Nepali 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 ("Nepali government"), thus omitting the reference to the king.

2007–Present

In October 2007, a 500-rupee note was issued on which the king's portrait was replaced by Mount Everest. This reflects the historic change from a monarchy to a republic which took place in May 2008 in Nepal. Further notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 rupees with Mount 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.

Banknotes

On 17 September 1945, the government introduced banknotes for 5, 10 and 100 rupees, with the name mohru used in Nepali. There are also 250-rupee notes commemorating the Silver Jubilee of Birendra Bir Bikram Shah in 1997. Since 2007, Nepali rupee banknotes have been produced by Perum Peruri, the mint company of Indonesia.

In 2012, Nepal Rastra Bank issued a revised banknote series that is similar to the 2007 series, but now include inscriptions in English and the year of issue on the back.

Exchange rates

Between 1857 and 1930, the Nepali rupee (two half-rupees or mohars) was fixed at 1.28 per Indian rupee. After this period, its value fluctuated against the Indian rupee, falling to रु. 1.60 = ₹1 in 1939, rising to रु. 0.60 = ₹1 during the Second World War and falling again afterwards. In 1952, the government of Nepal officially pegged the Nepali rupee at रु. 1.28 = ₹1, although the market rate remained at रु. 1.60 = ₹1.

Between 1955 and 1957, there was a series of soft peg revaluations that started at रु. 1.755 = ₹1 and appreciated to रु. 1.305 = ₹1 by 1957. In 1958, the government applied a new exchange rate of रु. 1.505 = ₹1 for the purchase of plane tickets only. A hard peg of रु. 1.60 = ₹1 was instituted in 1960, which was revalued to रु. 1.0155 = ₹1 when the Indian rupee was sharply devalued on 6 June 1966. The Indian rupee ceased to be legal tender in Nepal in 1966.

From 1967 to 1975, the government pegged the Nepali rupee against the Indian rupee, the US dollar and gold, starting at रु. 1.35 = ₹1, रु. 10.125 = US$1 and रु. 1 = 0.08777g gold. By the time the gold peg was removed in 1978, the exchange rate was रु. 1.39075 = ₹1, रु. 12.50 = $1 and रु. 1 = 0.0808408g gold.

In 1983, the Nepali rupee's anchor was changed to a trade-weighted basket of currencies, which in practice amounted to a hard peg against the Indian rupee. This remained until 1993, when the peg was officially set at रु. 1.60 = ₹1.

See also

• Crore
• Economy of Nepal
• Coinage of Nepal

References

1. "Nepal Rastra Bank". nrb.org.np. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
2. ^ Schuler, Kurt (2004-02-29). "Tables of Modern Monetary History: Asia". Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
3. "'Nepal to keep currency pegged to Indian rupee' | Business Line". Thehindubusinessline.com. 2018-01-11. Archived from the original on 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
4. "4 Paisa - Tribhuvana Bir Bikram". Numista › Coins › Nepal › Nepal, 4 Paisa - Tribhuvana Bir Bikram. 18 February 2021. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
5. Collector Club - La casa del collezionismo, I semestre 2021, inserto, pag 6 "La moneta proiettile".
6. Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Nepal". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, California. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
7. "Golden Jubilee Publications-Notes and Coins of Nepal" (PDF). www.nrb.org.np/. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2010-05-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. Rawat, Pooran Chand (1974). Indo-Nepal Economic Relations. Lawrence Verry Incorporated. p. 130. ISBN 9780842606561. The Nepalese half rupee was given the name of 'Mohar' because it bore the seal of the King.

Sources

• Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
• Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.
• Agrawal (Giriya), Shyam and Gyawali, Kamal Prasad: Notes and Coins of Nepal. Nepal Rastra Bank Golden Jubilee Year 2005–06, Kathmandu, 2006.
• Bertsch, Wolfgang: "The Legends on the Banknotes of Nepal", International Banknote Society (IBNS) Journal, vol. 48, no. 3, 2009, p. 39–44.
• Jha, Hari Jaya: An Overview of Nepalese Paper Money. Manjeeta Jha, Lalitpur (Patan), B.S. 2058 (= A.D. 2001).
• Lorenzoli, Giovanni: "Nepali artistic buildings as seen on Nepali notes". Journal of the International Banknote Society, vol. 43, no. 3 (2004), p. 6–14.
• Shrestha, Ramesh: Nepalese Coins & Bank Notes (1911 to 1955). Kazi Mudhusudan Raj Bhandary, Kathmandu, 2007.
• Wittmann, Hans: Die Banknoten des Königreichs Nepal. Unpublished, Wiesbaden, 2002.

Further reading

• Otto, Heiko. "Historical and Current Banknotes of Nepal". Retrieved 2022-05-12.

• Asia
• Money
• Nepal
• Numismatics

• Currencies with ISO 4217 code
• 1932 establishments in Nepal
• Currencies introduced in 1932
• Currencies of Nepal
• Economy of Nepal
• Fixed exchange rate
• Currencies of Asia
• Circulating currencies
• Rupee