Museum objects, artifacts, and archival items from the Sarmaya collection.
A rupee to stop smuggling. In 1959, the Reserve Bank of India launched a series of special notes to circulate only in the Gulf States. They were meant to stop the transfer of rupees to buy gold and smuggle it illegally into India. The rupee remained legal tender in the Arab kingdoms till 1972.
An Italian rupee in Africa. Between the 18th and 20th centuries, the most popular coins in the Horn of Africa were the Maria Theresa thaler and the Indian rupee. After Somalia was colonised by Italy, the colonial administration created a Somalian Rupee on par with the Indian one in 1909. Struck at the Royal Mint… Read more »
Adventures of an Indian rupee in Java. Owing to the success of the Mughal Rupee as a reliable trade coin, the Dutch East India Company made it an official currency on the island of Java in 1693. Rupees coming in with the trade were countermarked for local use. By far the most common mark was… Read more »
How large sums of rupees changed hands. A ‘hundi’ was a bill of exchange, drawn on a banker’s account, to another account. It could be cashed on demand, when presented to the account it was drawn to. This little document would specify the names of the issuer and receiver, the amount and commission, and validity… Read more »
Another memorable demonetisation. The Janata Party coalition government cancelled notes of 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 rupees overnight on 16 January 1978. The motive was to target ‘black money’, as advocated by the Wanchoo Committee Report of 1970. Treasuries and banks were shut the next day to catch cash-holders off guard. The move didn’t impact the… Read more »
The rupee’s first paper avatar. World War I disrupted the supply of metals like silver and copper, and led to the hoarding of coins. Fearing a run on the silver rupee coins, the Government of India introduced notes to replace the 1-rupee coins in 1917. Signed by the Controller of Currency, they had an imprint… Read more »
When we outsourced the rupee. In the 1980s, the demand for 1-rupee coins grew sharply. Measures like introducing new 2-rupee and 5-rupee coins did not fully resolve the capacity issues at Indian mints. As a result, the manufacture of coins was outsourced contractually to a number of mints abroad. Coins struck abroad at these foreign… Read more »
The rupee as a public pledge. In the 1960s, severe droughts left India vulnerable to widespread food shortage and provided the impetus for the Green Revolution. Providing food security for all citizens was a top national priority. So in 1968, when the United Nations’s Food and Agriculture Organisation launched the ‘FAO coin program’ to create… Read more »
The first rupee of the Republic of India. After we attained Independence in 1947, India continued using British-Indian coinage until August 15, 1950, when coinage carrying the new national emblem was launched. Symbols of British rule were removed from currency. On one-rupee coins, George VI’s portrait was replaced with the icon of the Lion Capital… Read more »
The rupee moves to the gold standard. During World War I, gold bullion was diverted to India from South Africa and Australia. In 1917, it was decided to coin it into ‘sovereigns’ equal to 15-rupees’ value at the Bombay mint. However,this foreign design was not popular. In 1918, a gold 15-rupee coin of the same… Read more »
“It would appear that knowledge of natural history is somewhat lacking among the draughtsmen responsible for designing coinage in London,” observed a newspaper report from January 1912. It was referring to rupees launched in December 1911 carrying George V’s effigy in full coronation regalia, designed by Bertram Mackennal. But people soon noticed that the figure… Read more »
The Indianising of a British queen. In 1862, rupee coins were issued under the authority of the British Crown for the first time. Queen Victoria’s bust on these coins was designed by Leonard Charles Wyon. It is a unique effigy of the Queen, where she wears pearls and a Mughal-style filigree tunic. This ‘Indianising’ was… Read more »
A milestone ‘Made in Hyderabad’. In the late 19th century, many princely states battled against constant hurdles thrown by the British Indian government, keen on stopping mints producing ‘substandard’ hand-struck coins. States like Hyderabad set up mechanised mints to make their coins as standard and modern as British coins. The Nizam’s government was a trailblazer… Read more »
A rupee for pomp and circumstance. Rupees for nazar or ritualised gifting were struck on specially prepared wide flans and carried full-die impressions. Originating in the Mughal court, where attendees greeted the emperor with money as a ceremonial token, this practice was carried with greater gusto by the Rajputs. Presentation or ‘Nazarana’ rupees were also… Read more »
A rupee to herald the Raj. Victoria, the Queen of Great Britain, issued a proclamation on 1 November 1858 ending the Company’s rule and transferring the governance of British India to the British Crown. Bharatpur struck rupees with her effigy, acknowledging her as the ‘Almighty Queen on the throne of England and India’. It is… Read more »
One rupee to unify the British currency. In 1834, the East India Company’s government passed the ‘Uniform Coinage Act’, to establish a single rupee currency across the three Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay and Madras. Accordingly, a machine-struck milled silver rupee was launched in 1835 from the Bombay and Calcutta mints. The design was based on… Read more »
A French rupee that became a success story. In 1745, the French obtained permission to strike Mughal-style rupees from the Nawab of Arcot. A crescent was added to the reverse design to suggest a French attribution. Known as the ‘Arkat Phulcherry’ rupees, they became highly successful as the standard coin for trade and commerce in… Read more »
A paean to Sikhism. Founder of the Sikh Empire, Ranjit Singh issued a coinage that celebrated the leaders and symbols of the faith. The Farsi inscriptions on his rupees invoke Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh, the first and last of Sikhism’s spiritual masters. They bear the leaf of the holy Ber tree in the… Read more »
A memento of a massacre. On 20 March 1739, Nadir Shah, the king of Iran, defeated Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah and entered Delhi (Shahjahanabad). Rupees were struck in his name, giving him lofty titles like ‘King of Kings of the World’. But soon afterwards, a horrifying massacre followed with Nadir leading the slaughter in person.… Read more »
The Maratha zenith celebrated in a coin. In 1752, the Marathas made a deal with the Mughal emperor to protect the Empire in lieu of a hefty annual payment. When Ahmad Shah Durrani, the Afghan king, invaded India in 1757, the Marathas retaliated and chased away the Afghans beyond the Indus. For a short while,… Read more »