BANKNOTES SALVAGED FROM THE SS EGYPT

 
Salvaged note with seal documenting recovery details

On a foggy evening in May 1922, somewhere in the grey waters of the Atlantic Ocean, a tragedy unfolded that would echo through maritime and numismatic history for decades. It involved a luxury passenger liner, a cargo of precious metals worth a fortune, and thousands of Indian banknotes that would spend ten long years at the bottom of the sea. When they were finally recovered, these fragile pieces of paper, once destined to circulate in the Princely State of Hyderabad, would emerge as some of the most unusual banknotes ever known. They would come to be remembered simply as the Hyderabad's sea-sunk notes from the SS Egypt.

Deep inside the ship's strongroom lay an extraordinary consignment of treasure. There were seven tonnes of gold bars, 43 tonnes of silver bullion, and 1,65,979 gold sovereign coins destined for India. The precious cargo alone was valued at more than one million pounds sterling, a staggering sum in the early 20th century.

But among this glittering treasure lay something less obvious yet historically remarkable. Packed in carefully sealed containers were 1,65,000 newly printed banknotes commissioned by the Nizam of Hyderabad from the renowned London printers Waterlow & Sons.

These notes: denominated in Osmania Sicca Rupees 5, 10 and 100 had a total face value of Rs 51,25,000, a vast amount for the time. They were brand new, freshly printed in London, and were being shipped to Hyderabad so that they could enter circulation. Yet there was one important detail. They had not yet been signed by the Finance Member of the Hyderabad Government. Without that signature, they were technically not valid currency. They were, in effect, beautiful pieces of paper awaiting official endorsement. No one could have imagined that these notes were about to embark on the most extraordinary journey any banknote has ever made.

When news of the disaster spread, the insurance companies were stunned. The liner had been carrying an immense fortune. But the wreck lay 400 ft below the sea, deeper than any successful salvage operation attempted at the time.

Salvage companies worldwide deliberated whether it was even possible to recover the cargo. The insurers partnered with marine specialists to raise the lost riches from the depths.

The loss of Hyderabad's currency notes at sea had caused considerable concern, and the Nizam's Government acted swiftly to set matters right. They commissioned M/s. Waterlow and Sons in London to print a replacement batch. It was meticulously specified that the replacement stock had to match the original denominations, bear the same date, with identical series of prefixes and serial numbers of the lost notes. Yet, to distinguish them from the unfortunate originals, a unique antique font was chosen—a subtle mark of their extraordinary journey.

When the new notes finally arrived in Hyderabad, they were carefully overprinted with the signature of Sir Akbar Hydari before entering circulation. With this, the saga of the lost shipment was laid to rest.

 
Osmania Sicca Rs. 10 replacement note

The lost treasure rested untouched for years on the ocean floor. Finally, after eight to nine years, a daring salvage firm organised a bold expedition to recover the lost treasure. The task was undertaken by an Italian marine salvage company known as SORIMA (Societa Ricuperi Marittimi), led by the determined Commander Giovanni Quaglia. Their salvage ship was called the Artiglio—Italian for "the claw". It was an appropriate name. The mission would require enormous courage, technical ingenuity and perseverance.

In June 1932, after years of effort, the divers finally succeeded in entering the ship's bullion room. What they saw inside was astonishing. The floor was covered with rows of gold bars and stacks of silver ingots, piled layer upon layer like bricks in a warehouse. Bags containing thousands of gold sovereigns had burst open, scattering coins across the floor. It was a treasure trove unlike anything the salvors had imagined.

As the salvage work progressed, boxes of bullion were hauled to the surface. Then something unexpected happened. During one recovery operation, a bundle of muddy paper emerged among the cargo.

At first the salvors assumed it was worthless debris. But when the bundle was washed and spread out to dry, the truth emerged. They were banknotes. Hyderabad banknotes.

To read the complete article, see:
The banknotes that slept beneath the sea (https://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/2026/Apr/05/the-banknotes-that-slept-beneath-the-sea)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: PAPER CURRENCY OF HYDERABAD (https://www.coinbooks.org/v29/esylum_v29n07a03.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web