Heads Up India Specialist 1R 8Annas Hundi 1881

I have no idea if this ebay item is desirable or not. Nor if the seller is knowledgeable of the item or trustworthy but it sure looks to be genuine and unusual.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-Opportunit...em20bbc1c99d

Thanks for pointing this out, Guigngt.

However, actually, it isn't a banknote, and it isn't from 'Hundi'. A hundi was/is a very popular method of transferring money by mail in India. This is an Indian Government example from the Victorian era, but individual Indian States used their own, or individuals simply hand-wrote them, and attached the appropriate stamp duty, as in this case from Soruth State:





with the February 1949 green 'Postage & Revenue/ONE ANNA' surcharge on the 2 Anna postage stamp, SG 59, used as a revenue stamp in this case.

More discussion of hundis here http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopi...f=13&t=28102 if anyone wants to see more of them.

Thanks, I had my doubts that it was a bank note and thought one of you India experts would identify it. I am assuming these are fairly common since you are not overly excited about it.

This is, of course, our seller from mac's other contemporaneous thread.

Yes, this item is technically unique; unfortunately, that doesn't translate into a "rare opportunity" in any traditional sense of the phrase.

You are correct Cjd, I happened to notice the "rare opportunity" when I followed mac's link to the seller. I am frequently amused at the descriptions and prices on posts by sellers who really don't know much about stamps.

Here is a cut-out (well, more of a tear-out, really) of a 15 Rupee hundi



If anyone would like it, just email me.

FYI, this is the same seller that ray.mac had trouble with the other day.

https://goscf.com/t/17545