The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Be on guard against fake notes, people told

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Friday, Nov 28, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Be on guard against fake notes, people told

Special Correspondent

“Five-rupee, two-rupee or one-rupee coins minted before 2005 are valuable”

— Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

changeover: A bank official attending to a customer at the soiled notes exchange and coin distribution mela on Thursday.

CHENNAI: If you have five-rupee, two-rupee or one-rupee coins minted before 2005, then you should hold on to them. They are invaluable, as coins of such quality are no longer being minted in the country.

They were replaced by new ones that are currently in circulation because the Reserve Bank of India had information that the coins minted before 2005 were being procured in bulk to prepare blades and anklets in some parts of the country.

“Sometimes we witness a huge demand for the coins and that is when we begin to suspect where the coins are going,” said Vaijayanthi Gopal, assistant treasurer, Cash Department, RBI.

The demand for small change is also heavy during festivals as vendors stock them up. “We are geared to meet such demand during festivals,” Bank of Baroda’s Deputy General Manager T. N. Athinathan said.

Officials of the banks were speaking at a programme here on Thursday to educate people on identifying fake currency notes and an exchange mela.

It was organised by the RBI and the T. Nagar branch of the Bank of Baroda.

Identification marks

The customers were advised that while exchanging currency notes, people should look for the following identification marks: the transparent watermark containing the smiling face of Mahatma Gandhi, the coloured line running through the note, and the serial numbers printed on the notes on the top and bottom. In counterfeit notes, the fonts of the serial numbers may not match, whereas in the case of original they do.

Though banks exchange soiled notes and coins, there are certain restrictions. Notes of Rs.5, Rs.2 and Re.1 denomination that are extensively damaged may not get much in return when exchanged if the information on the notes is unclear.

At least four digits of the serial numbers printed on the notes must be visible for the banks to exchange the soiled notes, the officials said.

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