Five silver Coins for Under Rs 500!

Though silver is a precious metal, it is not as expensive as you think – 10 grams of silver is worth just around Rs 700 at present prices. Go back a few decades, and silver coins were common in virtually all modern societies. Silver coins – Indian rupees, US dollars, British crowns and other were minted in hundreds of millions. Many of these coins are still fairly common and are available to a new collector at a reasonable price. If you are a new collector, these coins are a good way to start collecting silver coins without breaking the bank.

Here are five silver coins that you can buy for under Rs 500:

Half Rupee, George VI

During the British era, the rupee was a silver coin of 11.66 grams with 91.7% silver. This was reduced to 50% in 1940. From 1940 to 1945, the one-rupee, half-rupee, and quarter-rupee coins were all 50% silver. These half-rupee coins were 5.83 grams in weight and 50% silver. Initially, they were minted in Bombay and Calcutta mints, and from 1943 onward, they were minted in Bombay and Lahore mints. Coins can be traced to a particular mint based on the mint mark. These coins were minted in large numbers and are still easily available. For a collector trying to build up their British India collection, George VI silver coins are a good place to start. 

1 Kori, Kutch

The British weren’t the only ones minting coins in India before 1947. Many of the Indian princely states had their own coinage, which circulated alongside the British Indian rupee. One of these was the Kutch state, which minted its own coins from the 1300s all the way to 1948. As a coastal state, Kutch was rich due to trade and the large volume of its coinage testifies to this. Kutch was also among the first of Indian states to start milling coins, instead of hand-struck coins. As a result, the coins of Kutch are uniform in size, weight, and quality. While much rarer compared to British Indian silver coins, these are still available to collectors at a reasonable price.

1 Anna, Udaipur

Udaipur is named after Udai Singh, whose son Pratap Singh is better known as Maharana Pratap. In 1928 AD, Udaipur milled a series of five coins – 1 rupee, 8 annas, 4 annas, 2 annas, and 1 anna. These coins have an identical design, with an inscription in Hindi and the ramparts of the Chittorgarh fort visible on the other side. At just 0.95 grams, the 1 anna is among the smallest machined silver coins to be used widely. While it is rare, it still remains affordable to collectors.

1 Shilling, UK, George VI

Before it adopted the decimal system, the UK used units such as the pound, crown (1/4 pound), shilling (1/5 crown), penny (1/12 shilling), and farthing (1/4 penny). A pound was equal to 240 pence and a whopping 960 farthings. Other British colonies, including Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa used the same currency system and minted their own versions of these coins. Prior to World War II, British coins of 3 pence and larger were all silver. The obverse features the image of King George VI, while the reverse has an intricate design with a lion atop a crown. For a collector trying to move beyond purely Indian coins, a shilling is a good piece to consider.

Roosevelt Dime, US

Indians who have traveled to the US are familiar with the 10-cent or the 1 Dime coin, with the image of FDR. What many of them don’t know is that prior to 1964, these 10-cent coins were 90% silver. In fact, all US currency of 10 cents and above was 90% silver! The Roosevelt dime was introduced in 1946, shortly after death of the long serving US President and replacing the earlier Mercury Dime. From 1965 onward, the silver dime was replaced by a copper-nickel clade copper coin of the same size. However, the older silver dimes continue to be legal tender. If you find one in your change, keep it, as its value is much more than 10 cents! Among the coins in this list, this is one piece that continues to be in circulation, in a modified form though.