Coins of British India

Indian rupee coin (1862)
Obverse: Crowned bust surrounded by inscription Victoria Queen Reverse: Face value, country and date surrounded by wreath
Coin minted in 1862 and made of 91.7% silver
Royal title changed to Victoria Empress in 1877 (1884 coin shown here)

Coinage under British governance of the Indian subcontinent can be divided into two periods: East India Company (EIC) issues, pre-1835; and Imperial issues struck under direct authority of the crown. The EIC issues can be further subdivided into two subcategories: the Presidency issues, which comprise separate Madras Presidency, Bombay Presidency, and Bengal Presidency issues; and uniform coinage for all British territories from 1835 to 1858. Imperial issues bear obverse portraits of Queen Victoria (dated 1862–1901),[1] Edward VII (dated 1903–1910), George V (dated 1911–1936), and George VI (dated 1938–1947). No British India coins were issued during the brief reign of Edward VIII.

British trading posts in the Indian subcontinent were first established by the East India Company (EIC) early in the seventeenth century, which quickly evolved into larger colonies covering a significant part of the subcontinent. Early settlements or factories included Masulipatnam (1611) and Madras (1640) in the south, Surat (1612) in the west, and modern-day Kolkata (1698–99) in the east.[2][3] These colonies gave rise to Madras Presidency, Bombay Presidency, and Bengal Presidency, and each Presidency had a separate coinage and monetary system. In time, the EIC adopted a unified system of coinage throughout all British possessions in India and the older Presidency system was discontinued. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, control of EIC territories passed to the British Crown.[4] Coinage issued after 1857 were under the authority of the monarch as India became part of the British Empire. With the Royal Titles Act 1876, Victoria took the title "Empress of India", so in 1877 coin inscriptions changed from Victoria Queen to Victoria Empress. There was a transition period after India gained independence on 15 August 1947, and the first set of republic India coins were issued in 1950.

  1. ^ Campbell, J. Franklin (13 October 2004). "Victoria | The Coins of British India One Rupee: Mint Mark Varieties (1874–1901)". jfcampbell.us. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  2. ^ Gupta, P. L. (1996). Coins, New Delhi: National Book Trust, ISBN 81-237-1887-X, pp. 199–219.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference pridmoreEIC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Pridmore, Fred (1980). The Coins of the British Commonwealth of Nations (to the end of the reign of George VI, 1952). Part 4: India, Volume 2: Uniform coinage East India Company, 1835–58, Imperial period, 1858–1947. Spink and Son Ltd, London.

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