Rare Indian Banknotes recovered from 1918 shipwreck set for London World Banknotes auction

The notes were recovered as part of items that floated away from the wreck of the SS Shirala, a 5306-ton passenger and cargo ship built by A & J Inglis, Glasgow in 1901.

The ship which was travelling to Bombay from London was sunk by a German U-boat on July 2, 1918, leaving loads of rupee notes and other items including wine, marmalade, and ammunition.

The Noonans Mayfair auction house in London is putting up the notes for auctioning as part of their World Banknotes sale.

The rupee banknotes dated May 25, 1918, are expected to sell between 2,000 and 2,600 British pounds ( $2,558 or $ 3,325).

"Whole blocks of these notes, along with lots of provisions ranging from marmalade to ammunition, were on their way to Bombay from London when the boat was sunk by a German U-Boat," Thomasina Smith, Worldwide Head of Numismatics at Noonans was quoted as saying.

"Many notes drifted ashore, including unsigned 5 and 10 Rupees, and signed 1 Rupee notes, one of which is also featured in this auction. Most were retrieved and subsequently destroyed by the authorities, with new ones printed to replace them. However, a few examples remain in private collections," she said.

The banknotes came to attention after the Bank of England announced the events of the 1918 shipwreck on social media.

"These notes are in remarkable condition. They must have been in the centre of a tightly bound bundle, preventing contact with seawater. It's also notable that they have consecutive serial numbers," she added.

A "Reserve Bank of India, Persian Gulf Issue," 5-rupee note featuring the iconic Ashoka emblem and dated 1957-62 will also be auctioned for GBP 2,200-2,800 ($2,814-3,582).

The note was signed and stamped in Calcutta and can be dated back to 1917 and 1930.

The amount on the note is written in various Indian languages, such as Hindi and Bengali, reports the Press Trust of India.