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Indian Rupee: An International Currency

Posted by Amit Bhandari on

Indian Rupee: An International Currency

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...

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Coins of Portuguese India

Posted by Amit Bhandari on

Coins of Portuguese India

The Portuguese were the first European power to reach India by sea, when Vasco da Gama landed on the cost of Calicut. They were also the first ones to build up a substantial colonial empire in the Indian Ocean – in Goa, parts of Indian coast, Sri Lanka and Malacca. While they lost most of their colonial possessions to other, later martime powers, their rule over Goa, Daman & Diu continued up to 1961 – well after India’s independence in 1947. Thus, the Portuguese colonial presence lasted longer than that of any other colonial power. Upto the mid-19th century, each...

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Know Your India: Nawanagar State and its Coins

Posted by Amit Bhandari on

Know Your India: Nawanagar State and its Coins

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...

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Know Your Coins: Mint Marks Part 1

Posted by Amit Bhandari on

Know Your Coins: Mint Marks Part 1

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...

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Know Your India: Coins of Udaipur Princely State

Posted by Amit Bhandari on

Know Your India: Coins of Udaipur Princely State

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...

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