George VI one rupee

George VI one rupee, 1941

George VI 1 rupee was minted for the first time in 1938, in silver. At that time the prices of silver were rising so very soon the metal was switched to half silver. Then in 1939, the second world war started. The mintage of one rupee coins were stopped in that year, so the 1 rupee of 1939 is probably the rarest currency of British India. After that, the mintage of the rupees was continued as usual in half silver for a few years. But all the same, the silver prices kept rising so ultimately the government had to start minting the rupee and other coins in nickel, starting from 1943. The nickel rupee of George VI is shown below. The one shown above is in half silver.

One rupee, 1947

The reverse of this coin , struck in nickel , shows one rupee written in englsih at the top, in hindi at the left and in urdu at the right. Apart from India and 1947, the year, we can see a lion.

Some of the coins minted in British India were also proof, and thus we had the earliest proof coins in India. The gold mohar of William IV had a nice symbol on the reverse, that of a lion and a palm tree. When the reserve bank was created, a symbol had to be defined for it. The lion and palm symbol was chosen for the bank, and that symbol is issued to date and also minted on some coins as in the case of this one rupee coin. This one is one of my favorite coins.

Albert Frederick Arthur George (George VI) was the king of England from 11 december 1936 to 6 Feb 1952, when he died. He was the last king of India until 1947, so this is the one of the last coins of British India. This one is made of nickel.

Victoria Empress Rupee

Victoria 1 rupee: 1891

This rupee was also minted in silver.
Coins minted from 1862 through 1873 all have the date 1862.
The legend reads "Victoria Queen" for coins dated 1862 - 1876.
It reads "Victoria Empress" for coins dated 1877 - 1901.
The Rupee coin has several reverse designs, which can most easily be identified by examining the flower at the very top of the coin. There appears to be many minor varieties. Following is a description of the basic reverse types.
Reverse I - The top flower is open with long, curved petals. The "1" in the date has a flat top.
Reverse II - The top flower is closed. The "1" in the date has a slanted top.
Reverse IIa - Variant of Type II on a few 1862 Rupees. Similar to type II, but the flower buds above the "E" of "ONE" and above right of the second "E" of "RUPEE" have a pineapple-like pattern.
Reverse III - The top flower is half open. The "1" in the date (1862) has a flat top.
Reverse IV - Variant of Type II reported by W.A.T. Aves in a Feb 1984 Seabys Coins and Metals Bulletin and confirmed by collector Bob Johnston. This reverse type is so far known to exist on the Bombay Rupees for the years 1879, 1880, 1881 and 1882. Reverse IV is slightly different in many areas but the most recognizable difference is in the lotus flower to left of the date. The type II flower has five petals, while the type IV has three larger petals.

Bud patternsType IType IIType IIIType IV

The Rupee coin has three distinct Obverse designs, which can be identified by examining the panels on the front of the dress.
Bust A - The front of the dress has 3-3/4 panels
Bust C - The front of the dress has 3-½ or 3-1/3 panels … check the flower on the right of the bottom panel … it has fewer leaves than the one in Bust A
Bust B - The front of the dress has 4-¼ panels

Bust patternsPattern Type APattern Type BPattern Type C

East India company copper coins

East India Company half pice

East India Company quarter anna, 1858

East India company 1/12 anna

East India company quarter anna, 1835

East India company half anna
Half anna reverse: the coat of arms

This half anna coin was minted in 1835 and is definitely not easy to find. It is a large coin about the size of a half crown or the Nehru 5 rupee. On the reverse we can see the coat of arms of the East India company.

The East India company was founded for trading purposes. After a rival company challenged the monopoly of the company , the two companies were merged to form a single entity which came to be known as the honourable east india company or company John or company Bahadur. The company traded mainly in silk, cotton, indigo dye, spices and opium. In time it came to rule a significant portion of India through its various policies. The company enjoyed various monopolies and exemptions from the British monarch and this caused lots of resentment in its competitors. In spite of this resentment, the company enjoyed enormous power and profit for almost 200 years.

The East India company first came to India during the reign of Jahangir somehwere around 1616. They came as traders initially, but in time their interest went towards control and domination of the country which was full of wealth. They started to interfere in the affairs of the different states and also started to exercise military control and assumed administrative functions as well. The princely states grew increasingly uncomfortable with the policies of the East India company.

A decisive stage as regards the company rule in India came with the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daula had to wage a battle with the company led by Lord Clive, whose numbers were vastly inadequate as compared to the numbers of the Nawab's army. But clive had made a secret pact with Mir Jafar, who controlled quite a significant portion of the Bengal army. Mir Jafar had been promised the throne of Bengal by Clive. So when Jafar's troops did not take part in the battle, the morale of the Nawab's army went down; but still their numbers were about 4 times those of Clive's army which consisted of 950 Europeans and about 2100 Indian sepoys. There were moments when the English could have left the battle but a cannonball strike killed the army chief Mir Madan and the resulting confusion and chaos turned the tide in Clive's favour. The English gained control of Bengal following this battle and this also rang many a bell in the Indian princely states.

The British continued to deploy this policy of divide and rule quite effectively for the next 100 years to gain domination of the different states. They enetered into agreements with different states if they were considered strong enough so as not to be easily conquered, but later annexed them as and when there came a time of internal strife or rule by some ineffective and weak prince. Another notable policy was the doctrine of lapse, which refused to recognize an adopted heir, and in the case the company took over the reins by default. A case in point would be that of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, who was the adopted heir of Nana Saheb Peshwa and fought with all she had till the bitter end.

The British had certain practices which invoked the ire of the ruling princes and the masses alike. The rulers were annoyed in the least to have their powers usurped like it was nothing , and the peasants had to pay heavy taxes. The use of the Enfield rifle was very controversial as the cartridge which had to be bitten of was thought to be comprised of pork and beef, so it was sacrilege to both Hindus and Muslims alike. This was the cause of the sepoy mutiny of West Bengal heralded by Mangal Pandey was the trigger for the first war of independence, 1857.

After this revolt, the reins of the East India company went to the British monarch, Victoria at that time and effectively ended company rule. The company was finally dissolved on 1st Jan, 1874.