A Taka for Bangladesh Banknotes

Bangladesh is a very populous country east of India, that is highly homogenous in ethnicity and religion. Its banknotes tend to have stable design since they were first issued in 1971-72. The area does have an interesting history although its banknote primarily focus on its leadership since independence and local industry and culture.

Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan in 1971 after a civil war. Older collectors might remember the Concert for Bangladesh organized by George Harrison (ex Beatle). This concert was the first well-known ‘benefit concert’ and its goal was to help the people of Bangladesh affected by the war. Prior to 1971, Bangladesh was known as East Pakistan linked with the rest of Pakistan during the 1947 partitioning of India. East and West Pakistan were geographically separated by one of the largest countries, India. They lacked a common language. The only real link was that they were both primarily Muslim areas. What could go wrong?

First Series of Bangladesh Taka

After partitioning, the area of Bangladesh, translated to ‘the land of the Bengal people” used the Pakistani rupee. In fact, they used these notes even up to about 3 months after the local people defeated the Pakistani led insurgency (these notes had a BANGLADESH overprint). In 1972, the Bangladesh government issued its own currency – the Taka, meaning paper, or paper mache.

The 1972-73 series show the Prime Minister – Sheihk Mujibur Rahman on the front and wither industrial images or local flora. An interesting aspect of these notes is that there is a series where the portrait is on the right and then a series with the portrait on the left. Given the population size, the number of banknotes needed each year was large enough for Bangladesh to eventually set up its own print works in 1988.

Bangladesh has issued several nice commemorative notes. Most notably is the 2013 Silver Jubilee note commemorating 25 years of the Print Works. This 25 Taka is interesting because it shows small images of prior banknotes on the front. Although it is nearly monochromic, the design aspects and overall themes and continuity make it a very well-designed banknote.   Their 40^th and 60^th anniversary commemorative banknotes don’t stand out as special, but the 2018 70 Taka commemorating the 1^st step toward independence is a lovely note. This note shows the 1^st leader of Bangladesh along with the 2018 prime minister. The theme is Developing Bangladesh and it shows a long causeway, satellite and other technology-focused images.