2018-07-17 Tue

The Madras Presidency also known as Madras Provinces was the administrative subdivision of British India. It includes almost all the southern part of India - Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the part of Odisha, Kerala, Karnataka and the union territory of Lakshadweep.

The above shown silver Rupee of Madras Presidency was the first mechanized issue of 1807. The obverse of a coin showed the Persian legend ‘Sikka Mubarak Azizuddin Muhammad Alamgir Badshah Gazi’ with AH date. The reverse of a coin depicted as ‘Zarb Arkat Sanah Julus Mainamat Manus’ with clear signs of Spanish under type.

The coinage of 1807 was brought into currency by a proclamation of 15th July 1807, which mentioned these coins “should be coined directly from imported Spanish dollars”. Many double rupees struck at the same time show clear traces of the under type as the impressions were not well struck for larger coins, already hardened when fed into the press as blanks. For smaller coins, such as the rupees, the striking went well and under types were many types successfully obliterated. The fact that this coin shows the traces, therefore, makes it a seldom-seen feature.

Image Source: Classical Numismatic Gallery