page_title: History of the rupee
section_title: Coinage since the British period
hierarchical_section_title: History of the rupee / Coinage since the British period
caption_attribution_description: English: 1 Rupee, 1917
context_page_description: The history of the Rupee traces back to ancient Indian subcontinent. The mention of rūpya by Panini is seemingly the earliest reference in a text about coins. The term in Indian subcontinent was used for referring to a coin.
  The word "rupee" is derived from a Sanskrit word "rūpya", which means "wrought silver", and maybe also something stamped with an image or a coin. As an adjective it means "shapely", with a more specific meaning of "stamped, impressed", whence "coin". It is derived from the noun rūpa "shape, likeness, image".
  Arthashastra, written by Chanakya, prime minister to the first Maurya emperor Chandragupta Maurya, mentions silver coins as rūpyarūpa, other types including gold coins, copper coins and lead coins are mentioned. Rūpa means form or shape, example, rūpyarūpa, rūpya – wrought silver, rūpa – form.
  In the intermediate times there was no fixed monetary system as reported by the Dà Táng Xīyù Jì.
  Sher Shah Suri, during his five-year rule from 1540 to 1545, set up a new civic and military administration and issued a coin of silver, weighing 178 grains, which was also termed Rupiya.
context_section_description: The British settlements in Western India, South India, and the Eastern Province of Bengal (Calcutta) independently developed different coinages in consonance with the local acceptability of the coins for the purposes of trade.
  There are many fake coins of East India Company, with Indian gods depicted on the obverse side as shown in side-bar. Original East India Company coins show only the coat of arms of the East India Company.
  The coins of Bengal were developed in the Mughal style and those of Madras mostly in a South Indian style. The English coins of Western India developed along Mughal as well as English patterns. It was only in 1717 AD that the British obtained permission from the Emperor Farrukh Siyar to coin Mughal money at the Bombay mint. The British gold coins were termed Carolina, the silver coins Anglina, the copper coins Cupperoon and tin coins Tinny. By early 1830, the British had become the dominant power in India.  The Coinage Act of 1835 provided for uniform coinage throughout India. The new coins had the effigy of William IV on the obverse and the value on the reverse in English and Persian. The coins issued after 1840 bore the portrait of Queen Victoria. The first coinage under the crown was issued in 1862 and in 1877 Queen Victoria assumed the title the Empress of India. The gold silver ratio expanded during 1870–1910. Unlike India, her colonial master Britain was on the gold standard. To meet the Home Charges (i.e., expenditure in England) the colonial government had to remit a larger number of rupees and this necessitated increased taxation and unrest.
  The 1911 accession to the throne of the King-Emperor George V led to the famous "pig rupee". On the coin, the King appeared wearing the chain of the Order of the Indian Elephant.  Through poor engraving, the elephant looked very much like a pig.  The Muslim population was enraged and the image had to be quickly redesigned.
  Acute shortage of silver during the First World War, led to the introduction of paper currency of One Rupee and Two and a half Rupees. The silver coins of smaller denominations were issued in cupro-nickel. The compulsion of the Second World War led to experiments in coinage where the standard rupee was replaced by the "Quaternary Silver Alloy". The Quaternary Silver coins were issued from 1940. In 1947 these were replaced by pure Nickel coins.
  Immediately after independence, the British coinage was continued. The Monetary System remained unchanged at One Rupee consisting of 64 pice, or 192 pies.
  The "Anna Series" was introduced on 15 August 1950. This was the first coinage of the Republic of India. The King's Portrait was replaced by the Ashoka's Lion Capital. A corn sheaf replaced the Tiger on the one Rupee coin. The monetary system was retained with one Rupee consisting of 16 Annas. The 1955 Indian Coinage (Amendment) Act, that came into force with effect from 1 April 1957, introduced a "Decimal series". The rupee was now divided into 100 'Paisa' instead of 16 Annas or 64 Pice. The "Naye Paise" coins were minted in the denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 Naye Paise. Both the Anna series and the Naye Paise coins were valid for some time. From 1968 onward, the new coins were called just Paise instead of Naye Paise because they were no more naye = new.
  With high inflation in the sixties, small denomination coins which were made of bronze, nickel-brass, cupro-nickel, and aluminium-bronze were gradually minted in Aluminium. This change commenced with the introduction of the new hexagonal 3 paise coin. A twenty paise coin was introduced in 1968 but did not gain much popularity.
  Over a period, cost-benefit considerations led to the gradual discontinuance of 1, 2 and 3 paise coins in the 1970s. Stainless steel coinage of 10, 25 and 50 paise, was introduced in 1988 and of one rupee in 1992. The very considerable costs of managing note issues of Rs 1, Rs 2, and Rs 5 led to the gradual coinisation of these denominations in the 1990s.
caption: British Indian 1 rupee, 1917
exif: {}