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AWebsiteonIndianCoins
TIPSFORCOINCOLLECTORS
Thiswebpagehasbeenspeciallydesignedforbuddingcollectors&dealersincoinswhowishtoAcquirebasic
butauthenticinformationabouttheirhobby/occupation.
1.HANDLINGOFACOIN:ACoinshouldalwaysbeheldbyitsRIM/EDGE,withthumbandindexfinger.
ItshouldneverbeheldfromOBVERSE&REVERSEsideotherwiseitwillloseitsweightandbeauty.If
possiblethecoinsshouldbeseen/checkedwherecarpetormatisspreadoverthefloor,soastoreducethe
damagetothecoinincaseitfallsdown.

2.SIDESOFACOIN:EverycoinhastwosidesOBVERSE&REVERSE.Obverseisalsocalledhead.Itisthe

mainsideofacoincarryingtheportraitheadoftheruleroraSymbolandnameofthecountry.Reverseis
thebacksideofacoinandiscalledTail.Itdepictsthedenominationorissuepriceofthecoinwithyearand
mintmarkunderneath.HoweverinallthecommemorativecoinsissuedinIndia,thedenominationisgiven
undertheAshokaLionCapital.
HowdoyouknowwhichSideistheObverseofaForeignCoin?
Whencoinsusedtobestruckbyhand,thesideofthecointhatwasontheanvildiewasalwaystheobverse.
Thesidethattookthehammerstrikewasthereverse.Nowadays,withmachinestruckcoins,thereisno

longeran"anvildie"atall.Sowhichsideiswhich?Thischecklistwillhelpyoudeterminetheobverseand
reverseoflessfamiliarcoins.
(1)Theobversehastheportrait.Ifneithersidehasportraits,trytoapplycondition2.
(2)Theobversesideisdifferent.Inotherwords,theobversesidedoesn'thavethe"commontype".Agood
exampleofthisistheEurocoin,whichdoesn'thaveaportrait.However,eachcountryhasitsowndesignon
oneside,withadesigncommontoallcountriesontheotherside.Thecoinsaresaidtosharethesame
"reverse,"moreorlessbymutualassentamongcollectors.
ThisrulewouldalsoapplytocoinsofEastIndiaCompanyoranyothercountrythathas,say,acoatofarms
(orsomeothercommondevice)onitscoinage(butnoportrait.)Ifthecommondeviceappearsonmultiple
denominations,thesidewithoutthatdeviceistheobverse.
(3)Thesidethatbearsthenameofthecountryisusuallyconsideredtheobverseincaseswherethecoin
meetsneither1nor2above.
(4)Lookataproofset.Ifyouhaveaccesstoaspecialmintissuedset,suchasaproofset,youcan
determinewhichsidethemintconsiderstobetheobversebecausethissidewillbefaceupintheproofcoin
holder.
(5)Lookitupinthe"StandardCatalogofWorldCoins".

3.EDGES:Therearefourtypesofedgesofcoins.

(a)ReededEdge(MilledEdge,withcrossserrationsonRim).
(b)Plainedge(NomarkonRim).
(c)SecurityEdge(withadeepIndentationontheRimasifinTwoparts).
(d)ObliqueEdge(withserrationatanAngleof3045totheRim).Duringtheperiod18351947,coins
withfirstthreetypesofedgeshavebeenissued.

4.ESTABLISHMENTOFMINTSININDIA:EASTINDIACOMPANYsetupthefollowingthreemintsin
theseventeenthandeighteenthcentury:
(a)MADRASMINTin1640A.D.

(b)BOMBAYMINTin1671A.D.
(c)CALCUTTAMINTin1759A.D.
Thesemintswereagainresetupasbiggeroneandwiththelatesttechnology,atBombay&Calcuttain1829
A.D.HoweverMadrasMintwasclosedin1869.
(i)Before1947,i.e.prepartitionofIndia.Therewerefourmints,namelyatBombay,Calcutta,Lahoreand
Madras.
(ii)After1947,i.e.PostpartitionofIndia.Therearefourmints,namelyBombay,Calcutta,Hyderabadand
Noida.
TherearefourmintsinIndiaeachwithalong&distinguishedhistorythatproducecoinswhichserveour
everydayneeds,ThetwooldestareAlipore(Calcutta)andBombaymints,bothwereEstablishedin1829by
theBritishGovernment,thoughtheformerwasoriginallylocatedinCalcuttaandmovedtoitspresentsitein
1952.TheHyderabadmintwasestablishedin1903bytheGovernmentoftheerstwhileNizamofHyderabad
andwastakenoverbytheGovernmentofIndiain1950&startedmintingsince1953.Noidamintwassetup
in1986andstartedmintingferriticstainlesssteelcoinsfrom1988.

5.MINTMARKSONCOINS.Indiancoinssince18352007havethefollowingMintMarkswhichare
foundunderthedate(yearofissue)ofthecoin.Indiancoinsbearthedistinctivemarksofthesemintsbut
somecoinsweremintedabroadandimportedin185758,1943,1985,19972002andthesebearthemint
marksoftheirorigin.ThesecoinsareimportedwiththeapprovalofReserveBankofIndia.
IndianMintMarksonCoins

(a)BOMBAYMINT(Mumbai)TheBombayMinthasasmalldotordiamondmintmarkunderDateoftheCoin.
(b)CALCUTTAMINT(Kolkata)TheCalcuttaMinthasNoMintMarkbeneaththedateofcoinoranCincuseis
seenat6'oclockpositioninbritishindiacoins.
(c)HYDERABADMINTTheHyderabadMinthassplitdiamondoradotindiamondorfivepointedSTARUnder
thedateofcoin.
(d)LAHOREMINTTheLahoreMinthasaletter"L"mintmarkunderthedateofthecoin.Productionstarted
on5thOctober1943A.D.
(e)NOIDAMINTTheNoidaMinthasasmallorthickdotunderthedateoftheCoin.ProductionStartedin
1988.
ForeignMintMarksonIndianCoins
(a)PRETORIAMINTThePretoriaMinthasdiamondmarkunderthedate1943.
(b)SEOULMINTTheSeoulminthasaFivePointedStar"underthedateofthecoinbutexactlybelowthe
firstorLastDigitsofdates1985and1997.
(c)ROYALMINTLONDONTheBirminghamMinthasasmalldotunderthedateofthecoinbutexactlybelow
theFirstDigitofDate1985.
(d)HEATONPRESSMINTThisMinthasOrnamental/DecoratedLetter"H"underthelastdigitofthedate
1985.
(e)ROYALCANADIANMINT,OTTAWAThisOttawaMinthasa"C"mintmarkunderthedateofthecoin.(f)
MEXICOMINTTheMexicoCityMinthasan"M"mintmarkunderthedateofthecoin.

6.TECHNIQUEOFMINTINGCOINS:TherearefourmethodsofMintingCoins:
(a)PunchMarked
(b)Casting
(c)Repousse
(d)DieStruck(Milled)
Sincenineteenthcentury,thediestruckmilledmethodisbeingfollowedineverycountry.Machineminted
coinshavebetterfinish,thelabourcostismuchreducedandoutputismanifold.In1790,theabove
machineswerebroughtfromEngland,andmanufacturingofMilledCoinsstartedatCalcutta.

7.CLEANINGDIRTYCOINS:Thecollectorshouldtakegreatcareinthecleaningofthecoins.Thecoins
shouldneverbecleanedifoneisnotsureabouttheprocess/resultofcleaningespeciallywithanychemicalor
wirebrush.Thecoinsshouldbecleanedasunder:
(a)SilverCoinsmaybecleanedwithsoaportoothpasteandrubbedbetweenthethumbandtheindex
finger.
(b)Copper,brassandbronzecoinsshouldbedippedinsourcurd(Khattadahi)andrubbedwithsofttooth
brush.ThecoinscanalsobecleanedinTamarind(Imli)andlaterandLemonjuicedilutedwithwater.
(c)CopperandBronzecoinsmayhavegreenishdeposit(Patina)onthem.Thesecanbecleanedbydipping
themincoconutorseasameoilandrubbingwithhardtoothbrush.TamarindwaterorLemonjuicecanalso
beused.AnyedibleoilmayalsobeappliedtoallobsoletecopperBronzeandBrassCoins,forprotecting
themfromthegreenishdeposit.HowevernothingshouldbeappliedtoUNCcoins.

8.COINSFORCOLLECTIONBASEDONCONDITION
(a)GoodCoin:Acoinwhichremainedmuchincirculationbutitslegendonbothsidesshouldbeeasily
legible.ThereshouldbenoCUTorDENTUREmarkonthecoin.Suchcoinsgetminimumprice,whichis15
20percentabovethemetalvalue.
(b)VeryGoodCoin:AcoinwhichremainedlessincirculationbutitslegendonobverseandReverseshould
belegiblewithoutthehelpofmagnifyingglassanditslettersandfigureshouldbetangibleiftouchedbythe
indexfinger.Thereshouldnotbeanycutordenturemarkandalsonospotofanychemical.Suchcoins
gathermorevaluethangoodcoins,buttheseshouldbekeptcarefullyinsuchawaythattheydontlose
theirshineandlusterbyrubbingtoeachother.
(c)UnCirculated(UNC)Coin:TheCoinsfordailyusebygeneralpublicareregularlyissuedbyReserveBank
ofIndia.Allthesecoinsareuncirculatedcoins(UNC)atthetimeofissue.UNCcoinsarealsoissuedfor
collectorsbyIndiaGovernmentMints,Mumbai&Kolkata,inSpecialpacking.Thesecoinsaresoldat
premium.TheMintsadvertiseinprominentnewspapersforsaleandadvanceordersaretobebookedand
paidinadvancebybankdraftatthefollowingaddress:

TheGeneralManager,
IndiaGovernmentMint,
ShaheedBhagatSinghMarg,

Fort,Mumbai400023

and
TheGeneralManager,
IndiaGovernmentMintAlipore,
Kolkata700053.

9.PROOFSETS:ProofsetsareissuedbyGovernmentofIndiaMintsMumbai&Kolkata.Thesetscontain
allthecoinstobeissued,withmirrorlikelusterandarespeciallypacked.

Italsocarriesspecificationlike:Weight,Diameter.MetalContentsandSerrationontheedge.Thecoinsinthe
proofsetofMumbaihaveaspecialMintmark"B"or"M"underthedateonthereverseside.Thesecoinsare
alsosoldathigherpremiumthanUNCCoins.TheMintadvertisesforsaleandadvanceordersaretobe
bookedandpaidinadvancebybankdraft,asincaseofUNCsetsasstatedabove.Thereisnomintmarkof
CalcuttaMintonproofcoinsalso.

10.CARDBOARD&THICKPAPERCOINS:DuringtheBritishIndiaperiodmanystatesissuedcoins
madeofthickpaperandcardboard,insmallerdenominationsfortheirLocaluse.Thesecoinswereissuedin
additiontothecoinsissuedbyBritishGovernmentofIndia.QueenVictoriahad,aftertheIndependenceWar
of1857,giventheprivilegetotheIndianPrincelyStatestoissuecoinsinmetalandpaper,intheirown
names.

ThepaperandcardboardcoinsWereissuedbysmallerstateswhocouldnotaffordtoissuethemetal
currency.Thoughthereweremorethan500princelystatesandEstates,butonly110couldissuetheirown
currency.
11.LEGENDONCOINS:YouwillfindURDUlegendonalmostallthecoinsfrom1835to1947.Inaddition
toURDUlegend,TELGU&BENGALIlegendsarealsofoundoncoinsfrom19071947.
12.COMMEMORATIVECOINS:Nocommemorativecoinwasissuedfrom18351947AD.First

Commemorativecoinssetoftwocoins,wasissuedofShriJawaharlalNehruin1964.Sincethen
commemorativecoinsinallthedenominationshavebeenissuedexcept1,2,and3paisacoins,ondifferent
themes.
13.WEIGHTOFCOINS:Weightofallthecoinsfrom18351957isinGrains/gramsandfrom19572002
isinGrams.Onegramisequalto15.432grains.180grainsareequalto1Tola=12Mashe=96Ratties=
11.66grams.
14.MONETARYSYSTEM:CoinageforwholeIndia(IncludingPakistan&Bangladesh&Burma,except
Goa,Daman&Diu)
1pie=1/12Anna(OneTwelfthAnna)3Pies=1paisa/pice(OneQuarterAnna)2Halfpicesor2Dhelas=1
Pice(onequarterAnna)12Pies=1Anna4Pices=1Anna16Annas=1Rupee15Rupees=1
Mohur(Gold).
15.KOWRI,PHOOTIKOWRI, PIEANDDAMRI:Kowri&PhootiKowri,Pie&Damri,werethelowest
denominationsinIndiaduringtheperiodpriorto1950.

In1833A.D.2400Cowries=1Rupee=64pices/paise=192pies=256Damries
In1900A.D.1800Cowries=1Rupee=64paise/pices=192piesIn
1950A.D.640Cowries=1Rupee=64pices/paise=192pies=960Ries3PhootiCowries=1CowriPhooti
CowriorKaniCowrimeansPunched,Damaged/Broken(atTop).
(Thisratiowasconstantbefore1936A.D.LateronPhootiCowriwasnotinuse,beingthesmallest
denomination&riseinpricesduetoworldwarII)TheseCowrieswereincirculationaslowestdenomination
foruseasmediaofTransactioninthosedaysupto1950A.D.

16.COMPOSITIONOFMETALSUSEDININDIANCOINS
(i)Gold(18351918)91.7%or22Carat.
(ii)StandardSilver(18351939)91.7%SiLver+8.3%Copper.
(iii)SilverAlloy(19391945)50%Silver+40%Copper+5%Nickel+5%Zinc.
(iv)SilverAlloy(196971)80%Silver+15%Copper+5%Nickel.
(v)SilverAlloy(19722002)50%Silver+40%Copper+5%Nickel+5%Zinc.
(vi)Copper(18351906)PureCopper.
(vii)Bronze(190664)9597%Copper+4%21/2%Tin+1.00%0.50%Zinc.
(viii)CopperNickel(19062002)75%Copper+25%Nickel.

(ix)NickelBrass(196471)79%Copper+20%Zinc+1%Nickel.
(x)Nickel(19461974)PureNickel.
(xi)Aluminum(196593)96%Aluminium+4%Magnesium.
(xii)AluminumBronze(196971)92%Copper+2%Nickel+6%Aluminium.
(xiii)StainlessSteel(19882002)FerriticStainlessSteel(Iron83%,Chromium17%)
FORUMONCOINS

KINGWILLIAMIV(TILL1837)QUEENVICTORIA(18401901)
KINGEDWARDVII(19031910)KINGGEORGEV(19111936)
KINGGEORGEVI(19381947)REPUBLICOFINDIA(19472007)
RARECOINSERRORCOINSINDIANBANKNOTESCOINCHECKLISTS
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