Nepalese rupee

The Nepalese rupee was introduced in 1932, replacing the silver-based mohar at a rate of 2 mohar = 1 rupee. Since 1994, it has been officially pegged to the Indian rupee at a rate of रु1.60 = ₹1, having previously been pegged at रु1.45 = ₹1.

In 2024, the Nepalese rupee is accepted for domestic transactions only within Nepal and is not legally circulated outside its borders. Foreign exchange is regulated by the central bank and subject to strict limits.

History

The rupee was introduced in 1932, replacing the silver mohar at a rate of 2 mohar = 1 rupee. At first, the rupee was called the Mohru in Nepali.

The "Bullet paisa"

In 1955, 4 Paisa coins were minted, made from rifle cartridge cases from World War II that were used by the Gurkha soldiers who fought against the Imperial Japanese in the Pacific. The coins were produced by removing the primer from the cases and the cases were then converted into the 4 Paisa coins to commemorate the Gurkha's courage and victory during the war.

Due to the small number of cases found, these coins were minted for one year only.

They are known as the "Nepal Bullet Paisa".

1972–2007

During King Birendra’s rule, one can also distinguish between two major series of banknotes. The first series features the king wearing the military uniform while on the notes of the second series the king is wearing the traditional Nepalese crown adorned with feathers of the bird of paradise. During this period regular banknotes of 2 and 20 rupees and special banknotes of 25 and 250 rupees were issued for the first time. The legends found on the last issues of Gyanendra revert to Nepal sarkar ("Nepalese government"), thus omitting the reference to the king.

2007–present

In October 2007, a 500-rupee note was issued on which the king's portrait was replaced by Mount Everest. This reflects Nepal's historic change from a monarchy to a republic in May 2008. Further notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 rupees with Mount Everest and without reference to the king in their legends followed in 2008. The first issues of the 500- and 1000-rupee notes were printed on paper that still had the king's crowned portrait as a watermark in the "window" on the right part of the face of the notes. It was decided to print a red rhododendron flower (Nepal's national flower) on top of the watermark. Notes of these denominations issued in 2009 and thereafter are printed on paper that has a rhododendron flower as watermark instead of the royal portrait, and were therefore released without the additional overprint in red.