1947–1971 After the
Partition of Bengal in 1947,
East Bengal became the eastern wing of
Pakistan and was renamed to
East Pakistan under the
One Unit Scheme in 1956. The
Pakistani rupee also bore the word taka on official notes and coins.
Bangla was one of the two national languages of the Pakistan union between 1956 and 1971 (the other being Urdu). The Bangladeshi taka came into existence in 1972, a year after the independence of the eastern wing of the union, as the independent nation of
Bangladesh. Prior to the
Liberation war in 1971, banknotes of the
State Bank of Pakistan circulated throughout Bangladesh, and continued to be used in Bangladesh even after independence for about three months until the official introduction of the taka on 4 March 1972. During the war, it was an unofficial practice of some
Bengali nationalists to protest Pakistani rule by stamping banknotes with "" and "BANGLA DESH" as two words in either Bangla or English. These locally produced stamps are known to exist in several varieties, as are forgeries. On 8 June 1971, the Pakistani government declared that all banknotes bearing such stamps ceased to be legal tender. Furthermore, to prevent looted high-denomination notes from disrupting the Pakistani economy, the government also withdrew the
legal tender status of all 100- and 500-rupee notes.
Since 1972 On 4 March 1972, the taka replaced the Pakistani rupee at par.
Treasury banknotes • The first treasury notes in 1972 for 1 and notes of the
Bangladesh Bank for 5, 10 and 100. • In 1977, banknotes for 50 were introduced, followed by 500 in 1979 and 20 in 1982. • 1 treasury notes were issued until 1992, with 2 treasury notes introduced in 1989. • 1000 banknotes were introduced in 2008. • 5 banknotes, previously issued by
Bangladesh Bank, are instead issued by the
Government of Bangladesh. These have mostly been replaced by coins since the early 2000s.
Banknotes and issues In 2000, the government issued polymer 10 notes as an experiment (similar to the Australian dollar). They proved unpopular, however, and were withdrawn later. The 1 and 5 notes have mostly been replaced with coins, and in 2008, the government issued 1,000 notes. In 2011, Bangladesh Bank began issuing a new series of banknotes denominated in 2, 5, 100, 500, and 1000. All are dated 2011 and feature a portrait and watermark of the Father of the Nation,
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along the National Martyr's Monument in Savar at center front. From 2011, the Bangladesh Bank introduced new notes denominated in 10, 20, and 50 on 7 March 2012. The notes bear the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Martyr's Monument in Savar on the front. On the back of the notes, the 10 will picture the
Baitul Mukarram mosque, the 20 pictures the
Shat Gombuj mosque in Bagherat, and the 50 notes feature
Shilpacharjo Zainul Abedin's famous painting
Ploughing. On 7 March 2019, Bangladesh Bank released new ৳100 notes, which had the same design as 2011 Version, but had better security, a stronger Blue and were made of a different material. On 15 December 2019, Bangladesh Bank issued new ৳50 banknotes, with the same design as the 2011 version, but had a different colour (orange, brown and fluorescent yellow-green), and a slightly different design in some parts. On 17 March 2020, Bangladesh Bank introduced new ৳200 notes. They bear a portrait of
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on both sides and a landscape picture of a village, river and boats.
Commemorative banknotes In 2011, Bangladesh Bank also introduced a 40 note to commemorate the "40th Victory Anniversary of Bangladesh". The commemorative note features a portrait of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Martyr's Monument in Savar on front, and six armed men on back. This note has an
electrotype 10 in the watermark, indicating it was likely printed on extra 10 banknote paper. On 15 February 2012, Bangladesh Bank has introduced a 60 note to commemorate "60 years of National Movement". The commemorative note measures and features the Shaeed Minar (Martyrs' monument) in Dhaka and five men on the back. Like the 40 commemorative note, this note has an electrotype 50 in the watermark. It was likely printed on extra 50 banknote paper. On 26 January 2013, Bangladesh Bank issued a 25 note to commemorate the 25th anniversary (silver jubilee) of the Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Ltd. On the front is the National Martyr's Monument in Savar, the designs of the previous series of the Bangladeshi taka notes and its postage stamps, three spotted deer and the magpie-robin (
doyel). On the reverse is the headquarters of the Security Printing Corporation. Curiously, this note has an electrotype 10 in the watermark, indicating it was likely printed on extra 10 banknote paper. On 8 July 2013, Bangladesh Bank issued a 100 note to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
Bangladesh National Museum. The commemorative note features an 18th-century
terracotta plaque of a horseman on the front and the Bangladesh National Museum on the back. ==Coins==