Coins of the Indian rupee

The pictures of the coins and paper currencies can be found at Reserve Bank of India Coinage Museum and Reserve Bank of India Paper Money.

India became independent on 15 August 1947 and was left with a legacy of non-decimal coinage. One rupee was divided into 16 annas or 64 pice, and each anna was equal to 4 pice. In 1957, India shifted to the decimal system, but for a short period both decimal and non-decimal coins were in circulation. To distinguish between the two, the coins minted between 1957 and 1964 have the legend "Naya Paisa" ("new" paisa). The denominations in circulation were 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 paise and 1 rupee. See below #Coin series.

The word "naya" was dropped in 1964. In this year a new denomination the 3 paise was introduced and in 1968 a 20 paise coin was minted Both these coins however did not gain much popularity. The 1, 2 and 3 paise coins were phased out gradually in the 1970s.

In 1982 a new coin, 2 rupees, was introduced as an experiment to replace 2 rupee notes. The 2 rupee coin was not minted again till 1990, after which it was minted every year.

Stainless steel coinage of 10, 25 and 50 paise, was introduced in 1988 and in 1992, a new rupee coin was minted. This coin was smaller and lighter than the older rupee and was also made of stainless steel.

India issues several types of coins. Commemorative coins in various denominations have been issued, including those celebrating Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar, Rajiv Gandhi, Dnyaneshwar, 1982-Asian Games, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sri Aurobindo, Chittaranjan Das, and Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Denomination

The denominations in circulation currently are 25 and 50 paise and 1, 2 and 5 rupee coins.

Denomination	Period	Comments
Pice	1950-1955	Pre Decimal
Half Anna	1950-1955	Pre Decimal
Anna	1950-1955	Pre Decimal
2 Annas	1950-1955	Pre Decimal
1/4 Rupee	1950-1956	Pre Decimal
1/2 Rupee	1950-1956	Pre Decimal
Rupee	1950-1954	Pre Decimal
Naya Paisa	1957-1963
Paisa	1964-1981
2 Naye Paise	1957-1963
2 Paise	1964-1981
3 Paise	1964-1981
5 Naye Paise	1959-1963
5 Paise	1964-1994
10 Naye Paise	1957-1963
10 Paise	1964-1998
20 Paise	1968-1994
25 Naye Paise	1957-1963
25 Paise	1964-
50 Naye Paise	1960-1963
50 Paise	1964-
Rupee	1962-
2 Rupees	1982-
5 Rupees	1985-
10 Rupees	1969-
20 Rupees	1973-1989
50 rupees	1974-
100 Rupees	1980-

Coin series

Republic of India Coins: Chronologically, the main considerations influencing the coinage policy of Republic of India over time have been: The incorporation of symbols of sovereignty and indigenous motifs on independence; Coinage Reforms with the introduction of the metric system; The need felt from time to time to obviate the possibility of the metallic value of coins rising beyond the face value; The cost-benefit of coinisation of currency notes.

File:IndianCoinAshokStambha.jpg

Ashok-Stambha (Ashoka's Pillar)

The Ashok-Stambha (Ashoka's Pillar) is a motif on all Republic of India coins.

The coins of India post-independence could broadly be categorised as

The frozen series 1947-1950

This represented the currency arrangements during the transition period up to the establishment of the Indian Republic. The monetary system remained unchanged at one rupee consisting of 192 pies.

1 rupee = 16 annas

1 anna = 4 pice

1 pice = 3 pies

The anna series

This series was introduced on 15th August, 1950 and represented the first coinage of Republic India. The King's Portrait was replaced by the Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar. A corn sheaf replaced the Tiger on the one Rupee coin. In some ways this symbolised a shift in focus to progress and prosperity. Indian motifs were incorporated on other coins. The monetary system was largely retained unchanged with one Rupee consisting of 16 annas.

The Anna Series
Denomination	Metal	Obverse	Reverse
Rupee One	Nickel
Half Rupee	Nickel
Quarter Rupee	Nickel
Two Anna	Cupro-Nickel
One Anna	Cupro-Nickel	File:OneAnnaO1950.jpg	File:OneAnnaR1950.jpg
Half Anna	Cupro-Nickel
One Pice	Bronze

The decimal series

The move towards decimalisation was afoot for over a century. However, it was in September, 1955 that the Indian Coinage Act was amended for the country to adopt a metric system for coinage. The Act came into force with effect from 1 April 1957. The rupee remained unchanged in value and nomenclature. It, however, was now divided into 100 'paisa' instead of 16 annas or 64 pice. For public recognition, the new decimal paisa was termed 'Naya Paisa' till 1 June 1964 when the term 'Naya' was dropped.

Naya paisa series 1957-1964

The Naya Paisa Series
Denomination	Metal	Weight	Shape	Size	Image
Rupee One	Nickel	10 g	Circular	28 mm
Fifty Naye Paise	Nickel	5 g	Circular	24 mm
Twenty Five Naye Paise	Nickel	2.5 g	Circular	19 mm
Ten Naye Paise	Cupro-Nickel	5 g	Eight Scalloped	23 mm (across scallops)
Five Naye Paise	Cupro-Nickel	4 g	Square	22 mm (across corners)
Two Naye Paise	Cupro-Nickel	3 g	Eight Scalloped	18 mm (across scallops)
One Naya Paisa	Bronze	1.5 g	Circular	16 mm	File:OneNPNS.jpg

With commodity prices rising in the sixties, small denomination coins which were made of bronze, nickel-brass, cupro-nickel, and aluminium-bronze were gradually minted in aluminium. This change commenced with the introduction of the new hexagonal 3 paise coin. A twenty paise coin was introduced in 1968 but did not gain much popularity.

Aluminium series 1964 onwards

The Aluminium Series
Denomination	Metal	Weight	Shape	Size
Twenty Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium	2.2 g	Hexagonal	24.5 mm (across flats)
Ten Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium	2.3 g	Scalloped	26 mm (across scallops)
Five Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium	1.5 g	Square	22 mm (Diagonal)
Three Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium	1.25 g	Hexagonal	21 mm (Diagonal)
Two Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium	1 g	Scalloped	20 mm (across scallops)
One Paisa	Aluminium-Magnesium	0.75 g	Square	17 mm (Diagonal)

Over a period of time, cost benefit considerations led to the gradual discontinuance of 1, 2 and 3 paise coins in the seventies; stainless steel coinage of 10, 25 and 50 paise, was introduced in 1988 and of one rupee in 1992. The very considerable costs of managing note issues of Re 1, Rs 2, and Rs 5 led to the gradual coinisation of these denominations in the 1990s.

Contemporary coins

The Contemporary Coins
Denomination	Metal	Weight	Shape	Size
Five Rupees	Cupro-Nickel	9.0 g	Circular	23 mm
Two Rupees	Cupro-Nickel	6.0 g	Eleven Sided	26 mm
One Rupee	Ferratic Stainless Steel	4.85 g	Circular	25 mm
Fifty Paise	Ferratic Stainless Steel	3.79 g	Circular	22 mm
Twenty Five Paise	Ferratic Stainless Steel	2.83 g	Circular	19 mm
Ten Paise	Ferratic Stainless Steel	2.0 g	Circular	16 mm

Metal value

Rising prices of steel have made Rupee coins worth less than their metal value. This has led to noticeable shortages of coins in parts of India due to individuals illegally melting them and using the steel to manufacture razor blades. The blades are then smuggled out of the country for sale in Bangladesh.[[1]]

Controversy over 2006 two-rupee coin

The two-rupee coin issued from 2006 by the Reserve Bank, in stark contrast to the earlier coin, is rounded and simpler in design, without the map of India. The coin has already been criticized for being difficult to recognize by the visually impaired^[1]. Most controversially, it features an equal-armed cross with the beams divided into two rays and with dots between adjacent beams, which the RBI claims to be "four heads sharing a common body" under a new "unity in diversity" theme^[2]. However there is no history in India of a cross of this nature or any other cross being used to represent this theme. Outraged Indian commentators, bloggers and Hindu nationalists have charged that the symbol is a Christian cross, pointing out its strong resemblance (equal-armed cross and dots) to the symbol on the denarii issued by Louis the Pious^[3].

References

[1] New two-rupee coin is confusing for the blind

[2] RBI to come out with new Rs 2 coin

[3] An assault on the soul of the nation - V Sundaram

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