Blogs — Silver

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...

Nawanagar was a princely state in the Kathiawar region of Gujarat, with the Gulf of Kutch to its north. The ruler was the Jam of Nawanagar – a Jadeja Rajput and from the same clan as the rulers of Kutch. The town of Nawanagar was founded in 1540 by the first Jam Rawal, who was fleeing Kutch. The Jam Rawal in early 20th century was the well known cricketer Ranjitsinhji. The town of Nawanagar is also much better known as Jamnagar – the site of one of the world’s largest petroleum refineries, owned by Reliance Industries. Another well known port...

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...

  The 5 kori silver coin was heavier than the 1 rupee silver coin used in British India – and was accordingly pegged at 1 rupee, 5 annas and 1 pie. The 5 kori coin minted in 1875 was the last such coin to be minted in the name of Pragmalji II, the Jadeja Rajput ruler of Kutch – whose reign lasted from 1860-1875. The reverse of the coin also carries the name of Queen Victoria – this practice lasted till 1947. There are some features common to all coins of Kutch: A daggar (katar), crescent and trident (trishul) are...

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...