1862 Dot Coins

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 on the reverse of the coin – just above the flower underneath the date and just above the ‘N’ of the ONE on the top (see figure). There is a difference of opinion regarding the dots at the top – one view is that each dot in this location represents 10-years. However, as some coins have 2 dots on the top, this would imply a date of 1882 – whereas mints had adopted a system of changing years in 1874.

Whatever the true meaning of the dots, fact remains that 1862 offers a very wide range of coins to a collector, some rare and some less so.