Guides

Short answers to the questions people bring to a banknote: what the number on it means, why some carry a star, which patterns collectors chase, and what the RBI says about writing on them.

• How to read the serial number on an Indian banknoteWhere the number panel is, what the prefix, inset letter and star mean, and what to type when a site asks for the serial.
• Star (★) notes: what the star on a rupee note meansWhy some notes carry a star in the number panel, whether they are legal tender, and what they are worth.
• Fancy serial numbers on rupee notes: solid, ladder, radar, 786The patterns collectors look for in a six-digit serial, how rare each one is, and why nobody will pay you lakhs for one.
• The banknotes in circulation: ₹10 to ₹500Colour, size and motif of every Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series note, which ones we track, and what happened to ₹2000.
• Can you write on a rupee note?What the RBI's Clean Note Policy says, what a scribbled note is worth at the bank, and how to track a note without marking it.

Got a note in your hand? Check where it has been — no account, nothing to install.