2017-02-22 Wed

Nineteenth Century India; it was the era when the bridle of Indian administration was in the hands of the British Crown. India was divided between Independent and Princely states. It was the time of World War II when the Axis of Power was fluctuating and every aspect of the social and economic system was affected. All these changes caused a scarcity of metal in the monetary systems mainly in lower denominations.

World War II affected the world on many different levels and all the resources were diverted to lead the war cause. This resulted into a serious crunch in metallic supplies at that time and as a result, the production of smaller denomination metal coins had faced the worst hit. An acute scarcity of these small coins was felt throughout India and due to this many Princely States of India issued ‘Cash Coupons’ to meet the shortage.

The majority of these Cash Coupons issued were impressions of the revenue (fiscal) stamps on cardboard and a few had serial numbers while few did not. These Coupons were printed crudely and were issued by the state’s treasury and bore the signature of the treasurer. There were many restrictions on how the Cash Coupons could be used.

The Princely States initially sought the permission of the British Government to issues lower denomination cash coupons but this request was turned down. So these Cash Coupons were unofficial issued, the legality of these issues is a subject of debate till date. These coupons were issued strictly under a regimented and standardized manner from the state treasuries or bank under the patronage of these states.

One of the examples of this Cash Coupon is the issue of Jaora State with the portrait of Nawab Lt. Col. Sir Muhammad Iftikhar Ali Khan. He ruled the state of Jaora from 1895 to 940. This state was a part of the Central Agency and later became a part of Bombay Presidency and today it is a part of Madhya Pradesh. The serial number is printed on the back of this Cash Coupon.

The careful study of this Cash Coupons indicates that these issues reached a wide circulation and were in use till 1946.