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The Half Anna

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  The anna, together with the rupee and the paisa, formed the basis of the Indian currency system (1 Rupee = 16 anna = 64 paisa) till 1957. Higher denomination coins such as the rupee, half rupee were minted in silver while lower value coins such as one-quarter anna (1 paisa), 1/12 anna (one pie) or ½ pice were minted in copper and bronze. The half anna (1/32 rupee or 2 paisa) was the highest of these lower value copper/bronze coins. Half Anna, 1835, East India Company The first pan-India half anna coin was introduced in 1835 by the East India Company – this was a large coin about 30 mm in diameter and 12.95 grams in weight – slightly larger than the silver rupee and the largest coin in mainstream circulation. The obverse carried the coat of arms of the East India Company – two lions holding a shield with St. George’s Cross in between, with the date below and a Latin inscription underneath. These coins were minted in Bombay and Calcutta mints. Half Anna, 1862, British India After 18
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British India 1

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  Bronze 1/12 anna coin of British India, minted in 1939 in the name of George VI. The 1/12 anna was equal to 1/3 of 1 paisa, and 1/192 of a silver rupee - making it the lowest value coin to be minted in British India. Lower value coins such as these were used more frequently compared to higher value silver coins (just as a 10 rupee note gets used more often than a 500 rupee note), so high grade examples, as seen in this picture, are rare.
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Udaipur Princely State

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    Udaipur Princely State Udaipur or Mewar, is best known for Rana Pratap’s resistance against Mughal emperor Akbar. The rulers of Udaipur were called Maharanas – the only ones in Rajputana to be honored with this title. The capital – Udaipur, was established by Udai Singh after the sack of Chittorgarh by Akbar. It was his son Pratap Singh who is now better known as Maharana Pratap. Udaipur was one of the larger princely states in the British era, and the ruler was entitled to a 19-gun salute. Post independence, Udaipur was one of the first states to sign the instrument of accession to the Indian Union and its ruler was appointed the Rajpramukh (Governor) of the newly formed state of Rajasthan. The accession of Udaipur to India was also critical in scuttling the Bhopal Plan, a scheme by some Indian rulers, with the encouragement of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, wanted to either join Pakistan or stay independent. The region is known today for its spectacular forts of Chittorgarh and Kum
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Location: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Know your India: Coins of Kutch – 5 Kori VS 1932/1875 AD

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  Know your India: Coins of Kutch – 5 Kori VS 1932/1875 AD The 5 kori silver coin was heavier than the 1 rupee silver coin used in British India – and was accordingly pegged at 1 rupee, 5 annas and 1 pie. The 5 kori coin minted in 1875 was the last such coin to be minted in the name of Pragmalji II, the Jadeja Rajput ruler of Kutch – whose reign lasted from 1860-1875. The reverse of the coin also carries the name of Queen Victoria – this practice lasted till 1947. There are some features common to all coins of Kutch: 1.        A daggar (katar), crescent and trident (trishul) are there on all coins of Kutch. In this particular coin, the crescent is closed. In many of the later coins, it is an open crescent. 2.        The front of the coin carries the name of the King in devnagari script and the year in Vikram samvat. The reverse carries the name of the British ruler and the year according to the Christian calendar – in Persian. Up to 1860, the coins carried the name of the Mugha
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Know Your Coins: Mint Marks Part 1

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  Know Your Coins: Mint Marks Part 1 Mints are responsible for quality of their product – i.e. – coins they produce, and the mint-mark is a way of tracing the product back to the manufacturer. This is similar to how the packaging of most products mentions the details of manufacturing facility. The mint-mark is not the primary feature of a coin’s design, so it is usually much smaller than other design features of the coin. The first mint producing uniform coins in India was set up in Calcutta by the British, followed by Bombay and Madras mints. The Madras mint was shut down in 1869 and Calcutta and Bombay mint have been responsible for most of the British India coins production from 1835-1947. During the 1940s, the need for additional capacity led to setting up of the Lahore mint, with first coins produced in 1943. As the oldest mint, Calcutta mint has no mint mark. Bombay Mint has used various marks – during the end of the British era, a dot (.) underneath the date or at some othe
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Jai Hind kori

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  The Jai Hind kori was a 1 kori silver coin issued by the Princely State of Kutch in 1947 (Vikram Samvat 1947) on India’s independence, with the words ‘Jai Hind’ in devnagri on the reverse. This was issued in the name of Madansinhji, the ruler of Kutch at the time. This coin makes a break from earlier coins of Kutch in two ways. First, the previous coins of Kutch (from 1857-1947) carried the name of the British ruler on the reverse (Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI). This coins says ‘Jai Hind’ instead – signifying the shift of sovereignty. Second, the reverse of coin used Urdu script, in the Jai-Hind Kori, ‘Jai-Hind’ is written in Devnagari script. Other than that, this coin follows the pattern of other 1 Kori coins in weight, size and design.  
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Dot Coins: 1862

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  Dot Coins: 1862 From 1862 to 1874, the year on silver rupees was frozen to 1862. These coins were minted at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras mints. Of these three, the Bombay Mint adopted a system of dots – dies were specially marked with tiny dots to mark the year of manufacture. Thus, one dot meant the coin was minted in 1863 (1862 + 1) while 11 dots meant the coin was minted in 1873. Dots in these coins are placed on two locations
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