Coins of the Indian rupee

Union of India 1947–1950

At Independence on 15 August 1947, India was partitioned into the new British Dominions of India and Pakistan. The new Dominion (or Union) of India retained the previous imperial currency with images of British monarchs. The basic unit of currency was the Indian rupee, which was itself divided into annas (16 annas to a rupee) and pice (the old spelling of paisa - 64 pice to a rupee).^[1] The lowest-denomination Indian coins, the half-pice (128 to a rupee) and the pie (192 to a rupee) were officially demonetized in 1947; while both denominations had continued to circulate up to that time, new examples were not minted after 1942 as they were practically worthless (India remained a member of the sterling area after independence and the rupee remained pegged to the pound sterling. Until 1966, the rupee was worth 1s.6d, or 18 old British pence; a half-pice was therefore worth 0.141 old pence and a pie 0.09 old pence.)^[2]

From 15 August 1947 until 26 January 1950, the Indian coinage structure was as follows: (bold - denominations minted)^[3]

This represented the currency arrangements during the transition period up to the establishment of the Indian Republic.

The coins used after 1947 until the introduction of Republic of India - Pre decimalisation series were as follows:

George VI series (Independent India) (1947 - 1950)

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
One Rupee			Nickel	Circular	28 mm	1947
Half Rupee					24 mm	1946 - 1947
Quarter Rupee					19 mm	1946 - 1947
2 Annas			Nickel - Brass	Square	25.1 mm	1945
			Copper - Nickel		22 mm	1946 - 1947
1 Anna			Nickel - Brass	12 Scalloped	21 mm	1945
			Copper - Nickel		21 mm	1946 - 1947
1/2 Anna				Square	19.7 mm	1946 - 1947
1 Pice			Bronze	Circular with a hole	21.32 mm	1943 - 1947

Republic of India 1950-1957

On 26 January 1950, India became a sovereign republic. This series was introduced on 15 August 1950 and represented the first coinage of Republic India. The British King's portrait was replaced by the Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar. A corn sheaf replaced the Tiger on the one rupee coin. In some ways this symbolised a shift in focus to progress and prosperity. Indian motifs were incorporated on other coins. The previous monetary system and the old units of currency were retained unchanged.

Republic of India Pre-decimalization series (1950 - 1957)

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
One Rupee			Nickel	Circular	27.9 mm	1950 - 1954
Half Rupee					24 mm	1950 - 1956
Quarter Rupee					19 mm	1950 - 1956
Two Annas			Cupro-Nickel	Square	25.4 mm	1950 - 1955
One Anna				12 Scalloped	21 mm	1950 - 1955
Half Anna				Square	19.5 mm	1950 - 1955
One Pice			Bronze	Circular	21 mm	1950 - 1955

Decimalization

The move towards decimalization was afoot for over a century. However, it was in September, 1955 that the Indian Coinage Act was amended for the country to adopt a metric system for coinage. The Act came into force with effect from 1 April 1957, after which anna and pice denominations were demonetised. The rupee remained unchanged in value and nomenclature. It, however, was now divided into 100 'paisa' instead of 16 annas or 64 pice. Effective from 30 June 2011, all coins in denominations of 25 paisa and below were officially demonetized.^[4]

Naya paisa series 1957–1963

The antiquated spelling of "pice" was modified to "paisa" in the singular and "paise" in the plural. For public recognition, the new decimal paisa was termed 'Naya Paisa' (New Paisa) till 1 June 1964 when the term 'Naya' was dropped. The coins of 50p, 25p, 10p, 5p, 2p, and 1p had a legend in Devanagari script explaining the value of coin in terms of fraction of a rupee.

Naya Paisa Series (1957 - 1963)

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
One Rupee			Nickel	Circular	28 mm	1962 - 1974
Fifty Naye paisa					24 mm	1957 - 1963
Twenty Five Naye paisa					19 mm	1957 - 1963
Ten Naye paisa			Eight Scalloped	Cupro-Nickel	23 mm (across scallops)	1957 - 1963
Five Naye paisa			Square		22 mm (across corners)	1957 - 1963
Two Naye paise			Eight Scalloped		18 mm (across scallops)	1957 - 1963
One Naya Paisa			Bronze	Circular	16 mm	1957 - 1962
			Nickel Brass			1962 - 1963

Paisa series I with Devanagari Legend 1964 onwards

In June 1964, the term 'Naya' was dropped and the coins were reminted. The legend in Devanagari script explaining the value of coin in terms of fraction of a Rupee continued till it was finally dropped from the new design minted 1964 onwards.

Paisa Series I with Devanagari Legend (1964 - 1980s)

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
50 paisa			Nickel	Circular	24 mm	1964 - 1971
25 paisa			Nickel		19 mm	1964 - 1972
10 paisa			Copper Nickel	8 Scalloped	23 mm	1964 - 1967
			Nickel Brass			1968 - 1971
5 paisa			Copper Nickel	Square	22 mm	1964 - 1966
			Aluminium			1967 - 1971
2 paisa			Copper Nickel	8 Scalloped	18 mm	1964
1 paisa			Nickel Brass	Circular	16 mm	1964

Series II without the Devanagari Legend (1964 - 1983)

The coin minted from 1965 did not have the legend in Devanagari, explaining the value of the coin as a fraction of the rupee. Small denomination coins which were made of bronze, nickel-brass, cupro-nickel, and aluminium-bronze were gradually minted in aluminium.The first coin minted in such type was the 3 Paisa coin in 1964, which was a new denomination, and continued to be minted till 1971. One and Two paisa coins were changed to Aluminium and were minted without the Devanagari legend from 1965. 20 paisa coin was introduced in 1968, which continued to be minted till 1971.

Series II without Devanagari Legend (1964 - 1983)

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
1 rupee			Copper Nickel	Circular	28 mm	1975 - 1982
50 paisa					24 mm	1972 - 1973
						1974 - 1983
25 paisa					19 mm	1972 - 1990
20 paisa			Nickel Brass		22 mm	1968 - 1971
10 paisa			Aluminium	12 Scalloped	25.91 mm	1971 - 1982
5 paisa				Square	22 mm	1972 - 1984
3 paisa				Hexagonal	21 mm	1964 - 1971
2 paisa				8 Scalloped	20 mm	1965 - 1981
1 paisa				Square	17 mm	1965 - 1981

Series III 1982 Onwards

From 1982, New series was launched. the 20 paisa coin which was last minted in 1971, was reintroduced again, but in Aluminium. The size and the design of 10 paisa, 50 paisa and 1 rupee was changed, though they continued to be minted in the same metal. Coins of 3p, 2p and 1p were discontinued but continued to be the legal tender.

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
1 Rupee			Copper - Nickel	Circular	26 mm	1983 - 1991
50 paisa					24 mm	1984 - 1990
20 paisa			Aluminium	Hexagonal	26 mm	1982 - 1997
10 paisa				8 Scalloped	23 mm	1983 - 1993
5 paisa				Square	22 mm	1984 - 1994

Series IV 1988 Onwards

In Series IV, 5 paisa and 20 paisa coins were discontinued though they continued to be minted in Series III till 1994 and 1997 respectively. 10 paisa, 25 paisa and 50 paisa coins were minted in Stainless Steel. 1992 onwards, 1 Re coin was also minted in Steel and Rs. 2 and Rs. 5 coins in Copper Nickel were introduced. The very considerable costs of managing note issues of Re 1, Rs 2, and Rs 5 led to the gradual coinage of these denominations. These coins continued to be minted till 2004, when the Unity in diversity series was launched.

Cupro-Nickel coins are not minted anymore. Ferritic Stainless Steel coins of Two and Five Rupee denominations are currently in production.^[5]

2004 Unity in diversity Series

In 2004, RBI issued a series in denominations of 1 rupee, followed by 2 rupee and 10 rupee in 2005. These issues however came into circulation in 2006, and created a controversy over their design. 10 rupee coins were the first bimetallic coins issued in India, and because of the controversy and being minted in only one mint, most of the coinage never found its way into circulation. The ones which did were hoarded by Coin collectors and Coin hoarders.

2007 Hasta Mudra Series

in 2007 RBI issued a new series of Coins, The Hasta Mudra Series, in coins of 50 paisa, 1 rupee and 2 rupee denominations. These coins are stainless steel and feature various Hasta Mudras (hand gestures in Indian Classical dance). The 5 rupee piece that features waves in its design was also issued in 2007, along with a new 10 rupee coin. However, the design of the 10 rupee piece changed in 2008. The 5 rupee coin design was again reverted to the previous design, though it was issued in Nickel-brass instead of Copper-nickel. However, these 5 rupee and 10 rupee coins were not the part of the Hasta Mudra series.

The 5 rupee and 10 rupee coins were issued for common circulation in 2007, 2008, 2009 with changed designs and continued to be minted until the introduction of the Rupee Symbol series in 2011.

2011 New Series with the Rupee Symbol (₹)

In 2011, RBI issued a series in denominations of 50p, ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, and ₹10. The 50p, ₹1, ₹2, and ₹5 designs are identical except the absence of the rupee symbol in 50p coin. The ₹10 coin continued to be issued in bimetallic issues as previously.

Domestic mint marks

• Kolkata - either no mint mark beneath the date of coin or a C is seen at 6'o clock position in British India coins.
• Mumbai - diamond mint mark under the date of the coin.
• Hyderabad - split diamond or a dot in diamond or five pointed star under the date of coin.
• Noida - a small or thick dot under the date of the Coin.

Because of the increasing demand for coins, the Indian government was forced to mint coins in foreign countries at various points in the country's history.

Foreign Mint Marks

• Pretoria - diamond mark under the date 1943.
• Seoul - a five pointed star under the date of the coin but exactly below the first or Last Digits of dates 1985 and 1997.
• Birmingham (Royal Mint, UK) - small dot under the date of the coin but exactly below the first digit of date 1985.
• Heaton Press - Ornamental/decorated letter "H" under the last digit of the date 1985.
• Ottawa - a "C" mint mark under the date of the coin.
• Mexico City - "M" mint mark under the date of the coin.

Mints in Daegu, Korea, Slovakia (Kremnca), and Russia (Moscow) have also been used.

Mints

Commemorative coins are made at various mints across India including the ones at Mumbai, Noida, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

The First Commemorative Coins

The first commemorative coins was dated 1964 and had a bust of Jawaharlal Nehru on observe and was issued in one and half rupee.

List of Commemorative Coins

Note: Bold Marks are Silver Coins, Mint index: K = Kolkata (no mark), H = Hyderabad (⋆), M = Mumbai (◆ or B), Noida = (●).

Controversy over 2006 two-rupee coin

denier of Louis

The two-rupee coin issued from 2006 by the Reserve Bank, in stark contrast to the earlier coin, is rounded and simpler in design, without the map of India. The coin has already been criticized for being difficult to recognize by the visually impaired.^[6] Most controversially, it features an equal-armed cross with the beams divided into two rays and with dots between adjacent beams. According to RBI, this design represents "four heads sharing a common body" under a new "unity in diversity" theme.^[7] However, Hindu nationalists have charged that the symbol is a Christian cross resembling the symbol on the deniers issued by Louis the Pious.^[8]

Bimetallic Coin

India's much awaited first ever bimetallic 10 rupee coin was released in 2005 under the theme "Unity in Diversity". But, due to its controversial design resembling a cross, it was criticised and was not minted in large numbers. Another reason for its availability being scarce is that it was minted only in one (Noida) of four mints in India. Coin dealers and the public who got this coin hoarded it and it never came into circulation. It is available for sale on some auction websites, but the price of this coin is very high in comparison to its denomination due to the uncertain number of issued coins. Some coin sellers claim that this coin is a limited edition. However, official information is not yet available on the number of mintage. A press release from Reserve Bank of India mentioned that there will be two themes of 10 rupee coins: "Unity in Diversity" and "Connectivity and Information technology". From 2008 coins based on the second theme, "Connectivity and Information technology", were also released. The coin depicts 15 rays above the numeric 10. It was again minted only by the Noida mint and was not easily available in circulation. From 2011, the same theme was continued with a slight design change showing 10 rays instead of the earlier 15 and the introduction of the new Re symbol. Now it is being minted in all four mints, which are Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Noida. Apart from these definitive coins, 10 rupee bi-metallic commemorative coins have also been released as follows: 2008 – Tri Centenary of Gur-ta-Gaddi 2009 – Homi Bhabha Birth Centenary 2010 – RBI Platinum Jubilee 2012 – 60 Years of Parliament's first sitting.