Blogs — Rupee

A century back, the Indian rupee was an important regional and international currency – due to India’s large economy and status as a trade hub. The uniform British India Rupee – first introduced in 1835, was a silver coin (0.917 or 91.7%) and 11.66 grams in weight. From 1835 to 1938, the names of the rulers and the designs kept changing, but the two basic factors – weight and purity, remained constant. For ease of trade, many other smaller economies of the region adopted a currency that mirrored the Indian rupee. Thus, Burma (1853), Portuguese Empire (1881), Mombasa (1888), German...

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...

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. Buy Udaipur Coins 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...

Bundi was one of the smaller princely states of India, in modern day Rajasthan. In the early 19th century, it accepted British protection – and from 1858 onward, the coins of Bundi carried the name of the local ruler (Ram Singh) together with the British ruler – Victoria, Edward VII and George V respectively. Unlike other coins of modern age, which are milled, coins of Bundi were hammered – making the quality uneven - with the impression not falling on the planchet completely. The silver rupee of Bundi was thicker than the standard British India rupee, with a lower diameter...