Khissa Ek Rupaiya Ka - Dhaatu (The story of One Rupee)- Part 3 of 3

In the last two parts of Khissa Ek Rupaiya Ka (the story of One Rupee), I have discussed  (i) Chandi (when One Rupee was issued as a Silver Coin) and (ii) Kaagaz (when the Silver Coin was replaced by the One Rupee Note). In today’s post, I will discuss Dhaatu, i.e. the issuance of token one rupee coins made of nickel, cupro-nickel and ferritic stainless steel. 

During the transition period between India’s Independence on August 15, 1947 and the establishment of the Indian Republic, the existing coinage of the British era with the portrait of King George VI was retained. The new series of Republic of India coins were introduced on August 15, 1950. The one rupee coin was introduced in different metals in place of silver, to supplement the One Rupee Note. It was the concept of Token Coins. The One Rupee Silver Coin of weight 11.66 grams (1939- 0.917 silver) was followed by One Rupee Quarternary Silver alloy coin (1940- 0.500 silver), However, in 1947, it was replaced by the One Rupee Nickel Coin of King George VI, followed by the Republic of India One Rupee Nickel coin of weight 10 grams in 1950. In 1964, the cupro-nickel coin of weight 8 grams was issued which reduced to 6 grams in 1984 and ultimately was replaced by the Ferritic Stainless Steel coin of weight 4.85 grams in 1992 and then 3.79 grams in 2011. We see that not only did the metal of the One Rupee Coin change over time, but also the weight and dimension.

It would be interesting to understand the main issues which influenced the Republic of India coinage policy. These were primarily incorporation of symbols of Indian Independence replacing symbols of British Monarchy, introduction of the metric system and decimalisation, metallic value of coins becoming more than the face value leading to melting of coins for their metal value and cost-benefit of coins replacing currency notes especially from wear and tear perspective. 

Independent India Coin issuance can be sub-divided into the Frozen Series (1947-1950), the Anna Series (1950-1957), the Decimal Series (1957 onwards), the Unity in Diversity Series (2005-2006), the Nritya Mudra Series (2007), the Rupee Symbol Series (2011 onwards):

The Frozen Series (1947-1950)

Due to an increase in silver prices and scarcity of silver during World War II, the One Rupee Silver Coin (0.917 silver) of 1939 with the crowned head of King George VI on the Obverse, was replaced with a One Rupee Silver Coin (0.500 silver) in 1940. I am sharing a One Rupee Coin made of Nickel (given below) from my collection. This was issued in pre-independence British India in 1947, with the crowned head of George VI King Emperor on the Obverse and the Royal Bengal Tiger with face value written in English, Hindi and Urdu, year and country on the reverse which continued to be used in Independent India till August 15, 1950. These coins were minted at the Lahore and Mumbai Mint. The dot below the year on the reverse indicates that this coin (given below) was minted in Mumbai. Lahore Mint Coins did not have any mint mark below the year. These coin were the last coins issued by the British Empire and have since been demonetized.

                                                      Obverse                                          Reverse

King George VI            1947           Nickel  Weight 11.66 gm            28 mm

During the transition period till the establishment of the Indian Republic, the Indian Coinage remained unchanged from that of the British Era with One Rupee consisting of 64 Pice (1 Rupee = 16 Annas, 1 Anna = 4 Pice).

The Anna Series (1950-1957)

The first coinage of Republic of India was introduced on August 15, 1950 wherein the King’s Portrait was replaced by the Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar on the Obverse and the Royal Bengal Tiger was replaced by the corn sheaf on the Reverse of the One Rupee coin, symbolising the Independence of the country and the shift in focus to progress and prosperity. One Rupee, however, continued to consist of 16 Annas.

Metal	Obverse	Reverse
Anna Series 1950 Nickel Weight 10 gm

The Decimal Series (1957 onwards)

In September 1955 the Indian Coinage Act, 1906 was amended and the metric system of coinage and decimalisation was adopted by India from April 1,1957. The Rupee was now divided into 100 'Paisa' in place of 16 Annas or 64 Pice. The new decimal Paisa was called 'Naya Paisa' and it was only on June 1, 1964 that the term 'Naya' was dropped.

Metal Weight Size	Obverse	Reverse
Naya Paisa Series 1957-1964 Nickel  Weight 10 gm 28 mm
Paisa Series 1964 onwards Cupro-Nickel Weight 8 gm 28 mm
Cupro-Nickel Weight 6 gm 26 mm 1984

Ferritic Stainless Steel (1992), Unity in Diversity (2005-06), Nritya Mudra (2007), Rupee Symbol ₹ (2011)

On cost-benefit consideration and due to people melting cupro-nickel coins because of rising metal prices, stainless steel coins of one rupee were introduced in 1992 which were much lighter than the earlier coins. The considerable cost of managing one rupee note issue led to the full coinisation of this denomination in 1994 and dis-continuance of issuance of one rupee note which was, however, re-introduced once again in 2015.

Weight Size	Obverse	Reverse
Rupee One (1992) 4.85 gms 25 mm

 

New coin series – ‘Unity in Diversity’ (2005-2006) and ‘Nritya Mudra’ (2007) designed by National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad were introduced made of ferritic stainless steel with tactile factor for visually challenged persons. The Unity in Diversity coin has intersecting lines with 4 dots, while the Nritya Mudra coin has a “Thumbs Up” gesture. The Rupee symbol (₹) was introduced in 2011 in One Rupee Coins flanked by lotus buds and flowers with stems and leaves on both sides of the denominated value.

Weight Size	Obverse	Reverse
Unity in Diversity - 2005-2006                 4.85 gms                   25 mm
Nritya Mudra - 2007                 4.85 gms                   25 mm
Rupee Symbol (₹) - 2011                    3.79 gms                   22 mm

Currently, One Rupee Coins are minted at the India Government Mints located at Mumbai (mint mark small solid dot, Diamond, Letter B or M below the year), Kolkata (no mint mark as it was the first mint), Hyderabad (five pointed star) and Noida (small hollow dot). Interestingly, One Rupee Coins have also been minted at Birmingham UK (1985), Kremnica Mint Slovakia (1998 to 2001), Mexican Mint (1997), Pretoria Mint South Africa (1998 to 2000) and Royal Mint UK (1985).

From 1950 to 1968, the One Rupee Coins were issued only in 4 years - 1950, 1954, 1962 and 1964 and from 1969 onwards, it was issued every year.  However, the One Rupee Coins for the years 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974 are to be found only in proof sets. 

As we have seen, the One Rupee Coin was supplemented with the One Rupee Note, which was printed from 1917 to 1926, 1940 to 1994, and again from 2015 onwards.

My next post will be about Indian Commemorative Coins.

 

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[Republic India coins image source: RBI website] ã Sushil Kumar Mishra 2020