Hundis from Jaffna 1920s

Indigenous banking in Jaffna in the 1920s employed Hundi and they are of various forms. They may be worded as bills of exchange or promissory notes or cheques. They are freely used in making remittances for trade purposes.

Used in south India at least as far back as the 12th century. The Reserve Bank of India describes the Hundi as an unconditional order in writing made by a person directing another to pay a certain sum of money to a person named in the order. During the colonial era, the British government regarded the Hundi system as indigenous or traditional, but not informal. They were reluctant to interfere with it as it formed such an important part of the Indian economy and they also wished to tax the transactions taking place within the system. Official Hundi forms were produced incorporating revenue stamps bearing the image of British monarchs,

The Hundi were stamped Promissory notes. It is interesting that the Ceylon Ordinance 1844 No 23 which was replaced by 1861 No 2 that goverened Private Bank Issues, both refered to their banknotes as unstamped Promissory notes. Promissory notes in Ceylon was replaced by Legal Tender banknotes in 1941 September.

S. R. M. JAFFNA No. 55 Rs410.70 CASH PAID O.A.O.K.CT. 3-2-23
CEYLON 2C Brown and INDIA 1A Red George V Stamps

M. RM. VE. L. Jaffna No. 121 Rs500. CASH PAID O.A.O.K.CT. 30-4-25 1-5-25
CEYLON 2C Brown and INDIA 1A Dark Brown George V Stamps

S. N. S. JAFFNA No. 7 Rs1000. CASH PAID O.A.O.K.CT. 23-12-25
CEYLON 2C Brown George V Stamp

S. N. S. JAFFNA No. 8 Rs500. CASH PAID O.A.O.K.CT. 24-12-25
CEYLON 2C Brown and 2 X INDIA 1A Dark Brown George V Stamps

I am seeking help from someone who would read the Tamil text on these notes to understand what type of Hundi they represent and the identity of the issuer. It would be useful to type both Printed and legible handwritten in Unicode and translate to English,
Please E-mail kavanr @ gmail.com or WhatsApp +94712537551

I thank Anil Bohora (IBNS LM-199) for providing me the reference for Hundi which I had purchased on eBay many years ago from a seller in London.
The Catalog of Hundis used in India by Anil R. Bohora is a illustrated in Color, 520 page Primary reference on Hundais. I thank him for a copy of his book he gifted me when I visited him on 2023 October 19th in Nashik to see his faboulus Collection.

The notes were won on eBay Auction 201? The notes were scanned at 300 dpi and displayed at 50 dpi.

Indian Hundi were issued for specific transactions, unlike Chinese banknotes of medieval era which were for general use.


S. R. M. JAFFNA No. 55 Rs410.70 CASH PAID O.A.O.K.CT. 3-2-23 CEYLON 2C Brown and INDIA 1A Red George V Stamps

M. RM. VE. L. Jaffna No. 121 Rs500. CASH PAID O.A.O.K.CT. 30-4-25 1-5-25 CEYLON 2C Brown and INDIA 1A Dark Brown George V Stamps

S. N. S. JAFFNA No. 7 Rs1000. CASH PAID O.A.O.K.CT. 23-12-25 CEYLON 2C Brown George V Stamp

S. N. S. JAFFNA No. 8 Rs500. CASH PAID O.A.O.K.CT. 24-12-25 CEYLON 2C Brown and 2 X INDIA 1A Dark Brown George V Stamps

Hundis from Jaffna 1920s

Part of notes.lakdiva.org.lk a website for Banknotes of Ceylon and Sri Lanka since 1785.

Part of notes.lakdiva.org.lk a website for
Banknotes of Ceylon and Sri Lanka since 1785.