Seychelles 100 Rupees banknote 1975 Queen Elizabeth II
Obverse: Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in regalia of the Order of the Garter at right & the centerpiece of the banknote contains a magnificent vignette of land turtles in a vivid red on yellow background. Signature Colin Hamilton Allan (Governor)
Reverse: The banknote face value is printed in words "ONE HUNDRED RUPEES" in ornate geometric pattern and there is the numerical indication of the denomination in the four corners of the banknote.
Watermark: Black parrot's head.
Printer: Bradbury Wilkinson & Co Limited, London England.
Seychelles banknotes - Seychelles paper money
1968-1975 Queen Elizabeth II Issue
Seychelles
Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles (French: République des Seychelles; Creole: Repiblik Sesel), is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The 115-island country, whose capital is Victoria, lies 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) east of mainland Southeast Africa. Other nearby island countries and territories include Comoros, Mayotte, Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius to the south.
Seychelles, with a population of 90,024, has the smallest population of any independent African state, however it does have a larger population than the UK overseas territory Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
The Seychelles were uninhabited throughout most of recorded history. Some scholars assume that Austronesian seafarers and later Maldivian and Arab traders were the first to visit the uninhabited Seychelles. The earliest recorded sighting by Europeans took place in 1502 by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes and named them after himself (islands of the Admiral). The earliest recorded landing was in January 1609, by the crew of the "Ascension" under Captain Sharpeigh during the fourth voyage of the British East India Company.
A transit point for trade between Africa and Asia, the islands were occasionally used by pirates until the French began to take control starting in 1756 when a Stone of Possession was laid by Captain Nicholas Morphey. The islands were named after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, Louis XV's Minister of Finance.
The British contested control over the islands between 1794 and 1810. Jean Baptiste Quéau de Quincy, French administrator of Seychelles during the years of war with the United Kingdom, declined to resist when armed enemy warships arrived. Instead, he successfully negotiated the status of capitulation to Britain which gave the settlers a privileged position of neutrality.
Britain eventually assumed full control upon the surrender of Mauritius in 1810, formalised in 1814 at the Treaty of Paris. Seychelles became a crown colony separate from Mauritius in 1903. Elections were held in 1966 and 1970.
1976 Seychelles Independence
Independence was granted in 1976 as a republic within the Commonwealth. In the 1970s the Seychelles was "the place to be seen, a playground for film stars and the international jet set". In 1977, a coup d'état by France Albert René ousted the first president of the republic, James Mancham. France Albert Rene discouraged over-dependence on tourism and declared that he wanted "to keep the Seychelles for the Seychellois".
The 1979 constitution declared a socialist one-party state, which lasted until 1991. The first draft of a new constitution failed to receive the requisite 60% of voters in 1992, but an amended version was approved in 1993.
In the 1980s there was a series of coup attempts against President France-Albert René, some of which were supported by South Africa. In 1981, Mike Hoare led a team of 43 South African mercenaries masquerading as holidaying Rugby players in a coup attempt in what is known as The Seychelles Affair. There was a gun battle at the airport, and most of the mercenaries later escaped in a hijacked Air India plane.
In 1986, an attempted coup led by the Seychelles Minister of Defense, Ogilvy Berlouis, caused President René to request assistance from India. In Operation Flowers are Blooming, the Indian naval vessel INS Vindhyagiri arrived in Port Victoria to help avert the coup.
In January 2013, the Seychelles declared a state of emergency; the tropical cyclone Felleng caused torrential rain, and flooding and landslides destroyed hundreds of houses.
Seychellois rupee
The rupee is the currency of the Seychelles. It is subdivided into 100 cents. In the local Seychellois Creole (Seselwa) language, it is called the roupi. The international currency code is SCR. The abbreviations SR and SRe are sometimes used. Several other currencies are also called rupee.
Banknotes
British Colony:
The British Legislative Council authorized the establishment of a Board of Commissioners of Currency through the Paper Currency Ordinance of 1914, which was enacted by C. R. M. O’Brien, the governor of the Colony of the Seychelles on 10 August 1914. In 1914, the government produced emergency issues of notes for 50 cents, 1, 5 and 10 rupees.
Standard issue notes began to be issued in 1918, with notes for 50 cents and 1 rupee, followed by 5, 10 and 50 rupees in 1928. The 50 cents and 1 rupee notes were issued until 1951 and phased out in favor of the coins. 20- and 100-rupee notes were first introduced in 1968, whilst the 5-rupee note was replaced by a coin in 1972.
Independent Republic:
In 1976, the Seychelles Monetary Authority took over the issuance of paper money, issuing notes for 10, 25, 50 and 100 rupees. This series featured the first president of the Seychelles, James Mancham and replaced all colonial notes issued prior to independence.
In 1979, there was a redesign, featuring a more socialist and modernized theme reminiscent of the René Regime. This series was also issued by the Central Bank of Seychelles when it took over full responsibility in the same year.
In 1989, a new series was introduced with better security features and colors.
In 1998, another more high-tech series was introduced with a more practical, ergonomic design. This series later saw an additional 500-rupee note first introduced in 2005.