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Indian Coinage

An Overview

India has been one of the earliest issuers of coins in the world (circa 6th Century BC). Few countries rival India for the sheer diversity of its coinage be it minting techniques, motifs, sizes, shapes, the metals used or for that matter the monetary history arising from the Monetary Standards India has experienced (Tri-metallism, Bi-metallism, the Silver Standard, the Gold Exchange Standard as well as fiat money).

In history, Indian coins have played a crucial role in documenting political and economic changes over time. Foreign coin hoards found in India throw light on Indian trade patterns in ancient, medieval, and late pre-colonial times. The Motifs on coins have been impacted upon by the cultural ethos of different regions at different time periods.

Our coinage pages attempt to give a sampler of Indian Coins down the ages and are by no means exhaustive. We propose to supplement the pages in the days to come. We welcome contributions of the public/viewers.

To identify these coins we invite you to browse through our pages.

Currency Timeline

Among the earliest issues were those by the Bank of Hindostan (1770-1832), the General Bank in Bengal and Bahar (1773-75, established by Warren Hastings), the Bengal Bank (1784-91), amongst others. Few of these notes survive.
 

The Paper Currency Act of 1861 conferred upon Government of India the monopoly of Note Issue bringing to an end note issues of Private and Presidency Banks. Paper currency in India owed much to the intellectual stimulus and personal dynamism of Sir James Wilson, the first Finance Member in the Executive Council of the Viceroy of India. With the early death of Sir James, the task of issuing Government Paper Money in India devolved upon his successor Samuel Laing who substantially modified Wilson's original proposals.
 

Government of India continued to issue currency notes till the Reserve Bank of India was established on 1st April, 1935. When the one rupee note was reintroduced as a war time measure in August, 1940, it was issued by Government of India with the status of a coin. Government of India continued to issue Rupee one notes till 1994.
 

The motifs appearing on Indian currency notes reflect the changing socio-cultural ethos and the world-view of the times: buccaneering mercantilism, colonial consolidation, domineering imperialism, the grandeur of empire, to the symbols of National Independence followed up by allegories of progress and finally in the latest series, reminiscing Gandhian values.
 

To understand these issues we invite you to browse through our pages.

Currency Timeline

The Bank of Bengal
The Bank of Bengal
The Bank of Bombay
The Bank of Bombay
The Bank of Madras
The Bank of Madras

India Paper Money A Retrospect : 1770-1998

Financial Instruments and 'Hundies' in India have a venerable history. Paper Money, in the modern sense, traces its origins to the late eighteenth century with the issues of private banks as well as semi-government banks (the Bank of Bengal, the Bank of Bombay and the Bank of Madras alluded to as the Presidency Banks).

Hundies

Hundis refer to financial instruments evolved on the Indian sub-continent used in trade and credit transactions. They were used

• as remittance instruments (to transfer funds from one place to another),
• as credit instruments (to borrow money [IOUs]),
• for trade transactions (as bills of exchange).

Technically, a Hundi is an unconditional order in writing made by a person directing another to pay a certain sum of money to a person named in the order. Hundis, being a part of the informal system have no legal status and are not covered under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Though normally regarded as bills of exchange, they were more often used as equivalents of cheques issued by indigenous bankers.

Hundis: Specimens

British India Hundi
British India Hundi
Bank Memo to a Hundi
Foreign Bill
Opium Hundi
Princely State Hundi
Others

A Representative Darshani Hundi.

Early 20th Century

Nisani Hamare Gharu khate nam mandna.
Dastkhat Brijkishore Bhargava ke hundi likhe mujib sikar desi.

'SRI RAMJI
Sidh sri Patna subhastane chiranjeeva bhai Rikhabchand Bridhichan yog sri Jaipur se likhi Brijkishore Bhargava kee asis banchna, apranch hundi aik rupia 2,000 akshare rupia do hazar ke nime rupia aik hazar ka duna yahan rakha sah Sri Punamchandji Harakchandji pas miti Mangsir bad baras (12th) puga turat sah-jog rupia chalan ka dena. Sambat 1990, Miti Mangsir bad baras,
Rs.2,000

Neme Neme rupia panchsau ka chauguna pura do hazar kardejo.

'1' Chiranjeeva Rikhabchand Bridhichand, Patna.

Translation

Place it to the debit of our account.

Signature: Honour the Hundi written by Brijkishore Bhargava.

Greetings to Messrs. Rikhabchand Bridhichand, son of the fair city of Patna on whom the Hundi for Rs 2,000 (in words Rupees Two thousand only) is written by Brij Kishore Bhargava from Jaipur. Rupees one thousand if doubled make the sum of the hundi. The hundi has been drawn from here in favour of Messrs. Punamchand Harackchand on 12th Mangsir 1990, which please honour on presentation in the current money.
Rs.2,000

Four times of Rs. 500 make the sum of Rs. 2,000 for which the hundi is drawn.

Watermark on Hundis

Watermark on Hundis

Revenue Seals appearing on Hundis

British India
Embossed Seal: Queen Victoria
Embossed Seal: Queen Victoria
Adhesive Stamps used on Private Issues
Revenue form: Portrait of King Edward
Revenue Form: Ashoka Pillar

GP Notes, Bonds & Shares

Government of India Promissory Note
Government Promissory Note (Princely State)
The Bank of Bengal Share Certificate
Imperial Bank of India Share Certificate
Reserve Bank of India Share Certificate

The Advent of Modern Banking in India: 1720 to 1850s

Established Failed (F) or Merged (M) Bank Place
1720  1770 Bank of Bombay Bombay 
1770 F 1832 Bank of Hindostan Calcutta
1773 F 1775 General Bank of Bengal and Bihar Calcutta
1784 F 1791 Bengal Bank Calcutta
1786 F 1791 General Bank of India Calcutta
1788 Unknown The Carnatic Bank Unknown
1806 M 1920 Bank of Calcutta Bank of Bengal, 1808 Calcutta
1819 F 1828 The Commercial Bank Calcutta
1824 F 1829 The Calcutta Bank Calcutta
1828 Unknown Bank of India  
1829 F 1848 The Union Bank Calcutta
1833 Unknown The Government Savings Bank Calcutta
1833 F 1866 The Agra & United Service Bank Ltd. (Earlier The Agra Bank and later The Agra and Masterman's Bank, London) Agra
1835 F 1837 The Bank of Mirzapore Mirzapur
1836 Still Born Bank of India (London)  
1840 F 1859 North Western Bank of India Mussoorie
1840 M 1920 Bank of Bombay: Re-formed in 1868  
1841 1842 Bank of Asia London
1841 M 1849 The Bank of Ceylon (Taken over by the Oriental Banking Corporation) Colombo
1842 Still Born The East India Bank, London  
1842 F 1884 The Oriental Bank Corporation (Earlier, Bank of Western India) Bombay
1842 1863 The Agra Savings Fund Agra
1843 M 1920 Bank of Madras Madras
1844 Unknown Delhi Bank Corporation Ltd. Delhi
1844 F 1850 The Benares Bank Banaras
1844 F 1893 Simla Bank Ltd. Simla
1845 F 1866 The Commercial Bank of India Bombay
1845 F 1851 The Cownpore Bank Kanpur
1846 M 1862 Dacca Bank (merged into Bank of Bengal) Dacca
1846 F 1894 Uncovenanted Service Agra Bank Ltd.
1852 Still Born London Bank of Australia & India Agra
1852 F 1855 Chartered Bank of Asia London
1853   Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London & China London
1853   Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China London
1854 F 1857 The London and Eastern Banking Corp. London
1854   The Comptoir D'Escompte of Paris Paris
Sources: Cooke, Brunyate, Tandon, Maharashtra State Archives and RBI

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