I always wondered how this was done when I saw the guys hold the note to light. I knew about tip 1, I just verified trying the others.

1.     The notes that have Mahatma Gandhi on their front, also have a watermark of Mr. Gandhi on the left side, in the white space.

2.     Look for a green line running through the note vertically, to the left of Mr. Gandhi’s picture. This line is the “security thread,” and when you hold it against the light it will read “RBI”, Bharat (in Hindi) and 1000 (or 500).

3.     The bank note’s value is hidden in two places. On the left side of both the 500- and 1000-rupee note, you’ll see an outline of a flower. When you tilt the note, this flower will show you the respective denomination. There is also a  large blank space on the left, where the denomination is written vertically. To see it, you’ll have to hold it against the light.