Can you use a currency note as a bookmark or in a greeting card?

Bookmarks — no damage, no consequence

A note slid between the pages of a book and removed unharmed has not been defaced, damaged, or destroyed. The Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act 1984 requires wilful damage — using a note as a bookmark, with no damage resulting, does not meet this threshold. The Clean Note Policy discourages any use of notes that reduces their quality, but the Ministry of Finance confirmed to Parliament that there is no specific criminal provision to punish individual note-handling acts of this kind.

The practical risk of bookmark use is not legal but physical: books compress items stored inside them over time, and notes left in books for extended periods develop fold lines along the spine and compression creases. For an ordinary note, this is irrelevant. For a collectible note, even mild compression creasing is a grade reduction that cannot be reversed. The collector's rule is not driven by law: keep notes flat in archival sleeves, not in books.

Greeting cards — the shagun tradition

Gifting money in a greeting card or envelope is one of India's most universal cultural practices. Shagun — the custom of gifting auspicious currency amounts at weddings, festivals, and celebrations — is deeply embedded in Indian life. Tucking a note into a card envelope and giving it as a gift causes no damage to the note, creates no legal issue, and is entirely consistent with normal currency use.

The specific amounts in shagun tradition — ₹11, ₹51, ₹101, ₹501 — are cultural customs. No currency law treats these transaction amounts differently from any other. The odd-rupee amounts carry no legal significance beyond their cultural meaning.

Where the line is — gluing versus tucking

The distinction that matters is between a note tucked into a card and a note physically adhered to it. A note slid into an envelope or held loosely in a card is untouched. A note glued, stapled, or taped to a card has been physically altered — the adhesive bonds to the note's surface, potentially damaging the paper and making removal without further damage impossible. Gluing a note to a card constitutes a physical alteration that falls into the same category as lamination — an act that the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act technically covers, though prosecution is unknown.

The practical consequence of gluing is that the note's exchange value may be compromised — it may be classified as an imperfect note under the Note Refund Rules if the adhesive has affected the paper. A tucked note has no such consequence.

For collectors

The collector's only concern with bookmark and greeting card use is grade. A note that has been used as a bookmark, even temporarily, may have acquired subtle creasing that reduces its grade under close inspection. A note that has been in a greeting card envelope — handled, opened, appreciated by the recipient — has been handled. These are not legal concerns, but they are collector concerns. Collectible notes should live in archival sleeves, not in books or greeting card envelopes.