An expedition of the British East India Company made the first recorded landing on the Seychelles in 1609. The islands were uninhabited. France explored and later annexed the islands, in 1756. The British captured the islands in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars, and retained it by the Treaty of Paris in 1814. The Seychelles were part of the colony of Mauritius. The Seychelles became a British crown colony on August 31, 1903 when the Seychelles broke from Mauritius. The Seychelles gained their independence as the Republic of the Seychelles on June 29, 1976.
The monetary system of Mauritius was used in the Seychelles until 1939. Banknotes were issued in Mauritius beginning in 1768, and coins for Mauritius were minted in France and French India. French Livres/Francs and Spanish Dollars also circulated in Mauritius, and thus the Seychelles, especially since the paper currency depreciated heavily during the Revolution. By 1800 the livre, nominally 10 per Spanish silver dollar (piastre), had depreciated to 10,000 paper livres = $1.
Indian Rupees and Spanish Dollars circulated in the Seychelles in the 1800s. The Currency Commissioners of Mauritius for Mauritius issued banknotes in 1848, and the Government of Mauritius began issuing banknotes in 1866; however, Mauritian banknotes probably had very little circulation in the Seychlles.
The Government of Seychelles began issuing emergency Rupee (SCR) banknotes in 1914, and began regular issues of banknotes in 1919. The Indian Rupee was the unit of account in the Seychelles until 1934, and the Mauritius Rupee was used as a medium of exchange until 1934 when the Seychelles Rupee became a separate currency linked directly to the British Pound Sterling. Coins were produced for the Seychelles in 1939. During the Second World War, problems with obtaining its own notes and coins by ship led Seychelles to make notes and coins of Ceylon, India, Mauritius, East Africa, and South Africa legal tender. After the war their legal tender status was withdrawn.
Banknotes were issued by the Government of Seychelles while it was a crown colony, by the Republic of Seychelles from 1976 until December 1, 1978, by the Seychelles Monetary Authority from December 1, 1978 until January 1, 1983, and by the Central Bank of Seychelles since 1983. The Rupee is divisible into 100 Cents. |
This is a 10 Rupee note printed in 1976. The note is dark blue and blue on multicolored underprint. The obverse features Sir James R. Mancham, Seychelles' first President, a seashell to the lower left, and a parrot's head as a watermark. The reverse shows cliffs, with a hut and boats.
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This 20 Rupee note was printed in 1977. The note is purple on multicolored underprint. The obverse features Sir James R. Mancham, Seychelles' first President, a tortoise to the lower left, and a parrot's head as a watermark. The reverse depicts a sailboat out on the ocean.
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