Anecdote 1 - The Humble Pie - RBI

History

Anecdote 1 - The Humble Pie

Towards the nineteenth century, the pie was the smallest minted coin in India. It constituted 1/3 rd of a pice and was officially termed 1/12th of an Anna. 3 pies made a pice; 4 pice made an anna and 16 annas made a rupee. One rupee, thus consisted of 192 pies. (No wonder arithmetic daunted the faint-hearted then!!)

In the wake of the second world war, India witnessed an inflationary situation as well as a scarcity of metals that had to be imported. It was in this context of rising prices that the minting of the copper pie was discontinued after 1942.

Ten years later,there was a proposal by the Mint Master that the pie be reintroduced as a part of the coinage of Republic India. The proposal, however, was very gently squashed by the then Finance Secretary, Shri K.G. Ambegaokar on cost-benefit considerations. Ambegaokar, later also served as Governor of the Bank for about one month in 1957. C.D. Deshmukh, the former Governor of the Bank was then the Finance Minister. He as "Minister" wrote the last word ending the saga of the humble pie.

Ambegaokar stated

“Much as I admire the valiant efforts made to rescue the ‘picayune coin’, I must, I am afraid, albeit with a heavy heart, write

The Epitaph of the Pie

Low and high
We all will
When the poor little pie
Bids her last goodbye.

But her cost’s is so high;
And what can she buy?
What trade can she ply?
She needs must eat the humble pie;

So let us not vie
To keep alive the pie
And without a plaintive cry
Peacefully let her die.

If you want the reason why
There need not be hue and cry
Remember she’ll in honour lie
With the silver rupee high!

Will the “Minister” say the last word?

(K.G. Ambegaokar)
Secretary
July 12, 1952 &