Lot 2293

Description

India, Reserve Bank of India, shipwreck recovered unprinted banknote paper sheets with watermark by Portals in England, one with watermark of crowned bust of George VI, two figure fives, and Reserve/Bank/of/India in centre, five across and ten down, the other has watermark of crowned bust of George VI and Ten Rupees/Reserve Bank/of/India/Ten Rupees in centre, five across and eight down. Some paper loss around edges, surprisingly little water staining, as recovered. (2 sheets)

The SS Breda was a Dutch cargo ship that was sunk in Scottish waters during WWII. Part of the cargo was watermarked banknote paper to be used for the printing of British Indian banknotes. Because of wartime secrecy, the banknote paper was not listed on the ship's manifest so it was about fifty years later before they were discovered. The majority of the recovered sheets were auctioned in London in 1993.