ONE RUPEE

ONE RUPEE

(A) - Issues under the Company. 1835 – 1858

i). ‘WILLIAM IIII KING. (1835 – 1837)

This coin was first issued on 1^st September, 1835.

Specifications

Years of issue – 1835, 1840

Metal composition –  Silver (11/12^th fineness– i.e. 11/12^th  of pure silver + 1/12^th of alloy.)

Weight –  180 grains (1 Tola) (11.66 gms)

Shape –  Circular

Diameter – 1.3” (33 mm)

Edge –Upright milled

Obv –  Effigy of William IV with legend ‘WILLIAM’ on left periphery and ‘IIII, KING.’ on right periphery.

Rev – On the center, the denomination of the coin is indicated in both English and Persian, encircled by a laurel. The legend, “EAST INDIA COMPANY” appears on the top periphery. The year of issue is shown on the bottom.

Minted at – Bombay(1835), Calcutta(1835, 1840)

Km Number – # 450

Note:

a). On 1840, 1 Re Issue – Though the King died in the year 1837 and Queen Victoria became the Queen, after the death of her uncle, specimens of 1 Rupee William IV coin bearing the date 1840, are also come across. In 1840, a reverse punch, (prepared from 1835 reverse punch with the date changed to 1840), along with a new obverse punch (with Queen’s effigy), prepared at the Royal Mint, were sent to Indian Mints.

But for some unknown reason, a directive was subsequently issued, not to use the obverse design until further orders. Mean while to tide over the shortage of Rupee coins, some quantity of rupee coins were minted by pairing the new reverse die with left over, William IV ‘1835’ obverse die.

b). On Mint of issue – During this period, no mint mark was applied on any coin to indicate the mint of issue. The initials of mint masters in microscopic letters were stamped on the gold and silver coins at the truncation of the royal head. These initials helped to identify the product of different mints. These initials are --- F (incused or raised), RS incused, No initial.

F (incused or raised) – Calcutta mint issue – (‘F’
      stood for Major General William Forbes, 
      Master of Calcutta Mint,1836-1855) 

R.S incuse – Madras mint issue – (‘R.S’ stood for 
      Robert Saunders, Master of Calcutta Mint, 
     1826 - 1836, and Master of Madras Mint, 1836 - 1845)

No initial – Bombay mint issue

ii). ‘VICTORIA QUEEN’ – First Series – Continuous Legend (1837 – 1858)

Specifications

Years of issue – 1840

Diameter – 1.3” (31.5, 31.8, 32.2 mm)

Obv –  Uncrowned head of Victoria Queen with Continuous legend ‘VICTORIA QUEEN ’ on top periphery over her head.

Minted at – Bombay, Calcutta, Madras

Km Number – # 457

All other specifications same as previous William IV issue.

Note:

a )  Mint of issue –

S incuse – Madras mint issue – (Robert Saunders, Master of Madras Mint)

No initial – Bombay or Calcutta mint issue

iii). ‘VICTORIA QUEEN’ – Second Series –– Divided Legend (1837 – 1858)

Specifications

Years of issue – 1840

Diameter – 1.2” (30.5 mm)

Obv –  Uncrowned head of Victoria Queen, with legend written in two parts, ‘VICTORIA’ to the left of royal head and ‘QUEEN ’ to the right.

Minted at – Bombay, Calcutta,  Madras

Km Number – # 458

All other specifications same as previous issue.

Note:

a)  On Mint of issue –

WWB, BWW – Bombay mint issue

No initial or WW incuse/raised – Calcutta mint issue

WWS, SWW – Madras mint issue

(B)       Issues under the Crown. 1858 – 1947

i). ‘VICTORIA QUEEN’ (1858 – 1876)

Specifications

Years of issue – 1862, 1874 to 1876

Obv –  Crowned bust of Victoria Queen, with legend ‘VICTORIA’ to the left of royal bust and ‘QUEEN ’ to the right.

Rev – An ornamental circular wreath encloses the value of coin ‘ONE RUPEE’ in two lines in English, with ‘INDIA’ and year of issue shown below. Value in Persian is not shown.

Minted at – Bombay(1862, 1874 to 1876), Calcutta(1862, 1874 to 1876),  Madras(1862)

Km Number – # 473

All other specifications same as previous issue.

Note:

a) About dots on issue of 1862–

a). Dots above the  ‘N’ of ‘ONE’ indicates the mint of issue of the coins.

Calcutta – No dot

Bombay – One dot

Madras – Two dots (The mint at Madras was closed in the year 1867.)

b). Dots below the date ‘1862’ (above the  lower flower design) indicates the year of issue of the coins.

1 dot -> year of issue = 1862 + 1 = 1863

2 dots -> year of issue = 1862 + 2 = 1864

3 dots -> year of issue = 1862 + 3 = 1865

……………….

ii). ‘VICTORIA EMPRESS’ (1877 – 1901)

Specifications

Years of issue – 1877 to 1893, 1897, 1898, 1900, 1901

Obv –  Crowned bust of Empress Victoria, with legend ‘VICTORIA’ on left periphery and ‘EMPRESS ’ on right periphery.

Minted at – Bombay, Calcutta

Km Number – # 492

            All other specifications same as previous issue.

Note:

About mint of issue :– (In 1 re, ½ re, ¼ re and 2 Annas)

Bombay mint – (1877 – 1883) Dot below date

-       (1883 – 1901) ‘B’ raised or incuse, above the base of top flower on reverse.

Calcutta mint – (1879 – 1901) Incuse ‘C’below the center of bottom flower design on reverse.

iii). King Edward VII. (1901 - 1910)

Specifications

Years of issue – 1903 to 1910

Obv –  Uncrowned head of Edward VII, with continuous legend ‘EDWARD VII KING & EMPEROR’ written on the periphery.

Rev – Crown shown on the top. Denomination in English and Persian in the center. Date at the bottom, flanked by sprays on both sides.

Minted at – Bombay, Calcutta

Km Number – # 508

            All other specifications same as above previous issue.

Mint mark:

Bombay issue – From 1903 t0 1906 -- A small incuse ‘B’ is found at base of the king’s crown on the obverse and a small dot is seen on the stem of the bottom lotus bud in the right hand spray. From 1906, the incuse ‘B’ was removed.

Calcutta issues --  No mint mark.

iv). King George V. (1910 - 1936)

Specifications

Years of issue – 1911 to 1922

Obv –  Legend ‘GEORGE  V KING EMPEROR’ around the Crowned bust of King George  V.

Rev – A floral circular wreath encloses the value of coin in English and Persian. Year of issue is shown above Persian inscription.

Minted at – Bombay(1911 to 1922), Calcutta(1911 to 1920)

Km Number – # 524

            All other specifications same as Edward Bronze issue.

Note:

i). PIG Rupee :– (KM - # 523)

The first 1 rupee coin with King George  V effigy was issued in 1911. The small elephant shown on the mail of Royal bust, had a short trunk and short legs, it looked like a snout of a pig with short legs. Due to severe criticism, this coin was withdrawn and re-issued with a good figure of an elephant. This coin is popularly called as PIG RUPEE.

ii). Mint Marks: -

a) Bombay Mint – Dot below lower flower design on reverse.

b) Calcutta Mint – No dot present.

v). King George VI. (1936 - 1947)

a)    Silver Issue

Specifications

Years of issue – 1938,1939

Edge –milled

Obv –  Continuous legend ‘GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR’ on outer periphery around the crowned head of King George VI.

Minted at – Bombay

Km Number – # 555

            All other specifications same as previous King George  V issue.

Note :

i). Mint Marks: -

a) Bombay Mint – Diamond/Dot below bottom flower on reverse.

ii). The rarest 1 Rupee coin of BI (1939 issue)

b)    Quaternary Alloy Issue (50% Siver)

Specifications

Years of issue – 1940 to 1945

Metal composition – Quaternary Alloy ( 50% Silver, 40% Copper, 5% Nickel, 5% Zinc)

Edge - Security

Minted at – Bombay(1940 to 1945), Lahore(1944, 1945)

Km Number – # 556, 557

            All other specifications same as previous issue.

Note :

i). Mint Marks: -

a) Bombay Mint – Diamond/Dot below bottom flower on reverse.

 b) Lahore Mint --  ‘L’ below bottom flower design on reverse very near to rim.

c)    Nickel Issue

Specifications

Years of issue – 1947

Metal composition –  Nickel 100%

Diameter – 1.1” (27.9 to 28.1 mm)

Edge –Security

Rev – A stalking tiger appears in the center with ‘INDIA’ and ‘1947’ the date of issue, is shown below it. The value ‘ONE RUPEE’ in Hindi, English and Persian appears around the periphery.

Minted at – Bombay, Lahore

Km Number – # 559

            All other specifications same as previous issue.

Note :

i). Mint Marks: -

a) Bombay Mint – Diamond/Dot below date.

              b) Lahore Mint --  No mint mark.