The Rs 500 denomination banknote in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) series is one of the most commonly used currency notes in India. Unfortunately, counterfeiters often attempt to create fake versions of this note, which can cause confusion and financial losses for individuals and businesses. To help customers distinguish between genuine and fake Rs 500 notes, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has shared detailed information on what to look for.
Obverse
Reverse
Rollover to view features of the New ₹500 Notes
The size of the note is 63mm x 150mm, as per RBI.
Key things you need to check
According to RBI, here are the features of the Rs 500 notes that you need to observe
1) See-through register with denominational numeral 500
2) Latent image with the denomination numeral 500
3) Denominational numeral 500 value in the Devanagiri script.
4) Portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre
5) Micro letters Bharat (in Devnagri) and 'India'
6) Colour shift windowed security thread with inscriptions 'Bharat' (in Devnagri), and 'RBI'. The colour of the thread changes from green to blue when the note is tilted.
Observe closely
7) Guarantee clause, governor's signature with promise clause, and RBI emblem towards the right of Mahatma Gandhi's portrait.
8) Mahatma Gandhi's portrait and electrotype (500) watermarks
9) Number panel with numerals in ascending front on the top left side and bottom side
10) Denominational numeral with Rupee symbol in (Rs 500) in colour changing ink (green to blue) on the bottom right.
11) Ashoka pillar emblem on the right
12) Some features for the visually impaired
13) Year of printing of the note on the left
14) Swacchh Bharat logo with slogan
15) Language panel
16) Motif of Red Fort
17) Denominational numeral 500 in Devnagri
RBI to introduce " * " series Banknote Press Releases Date : Apr 19, 2006
The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue ₹ 500 denomination banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi(New) series with the inset letter ‘E’ in both the number panels, bearing the signature of Dr. Urjit R. Patel Governor, Reserve Bank of India, the year of printing '2016’ and Swachh Bharat Logo printed on the reverse of the Banknote.
Some of the captioned banknotes will have an additional character ‘*’ (star) in the number panel in the space between the prefix and the number. Packets containing these notes will have 100 pieces as usual but not in serial order. To facilitate easy identification of note packets containing ‘star’ notes the bands on such packets will clearly indicate the presence of these notes in the packet. ‘Star’ banknotes in ₹ 500 denomination are being issued for the first time. ‘Star’ banknotes in the denomination of ₹ 10, 20, 50 and 100 are already in circulation . The rationale and the scheme of introduction of ‘Star’ banknotes were detailed in the Press Release No. 2005-2006/1337 dated April 19, 2006
All ₹ 500 banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, issued from November 8, 2016 onwards, will continue to be legal tender.
