The former inscriptions upon the E.I. Company's gold and silver coins were in Persian as follow:— Obverse of tile Sicca rupee struck at the Cal cutta mint. — I and -i-din -i-Mahomed, Sayah-i Faz1 Oollah sikkali zad bar haft Kishwur Shah Altun badsliali.'—` Defender of the Muhammadan faith, reflection of divine excellence, the king Shah Alam has struck this coin to be current throughout the seven clinics.' Reverse—` Struck at Murshidabad in the year 19 of his fortunate reign.' On the rupee of the Western Provinces, coined at the mints formerly of Farrakhabad and I3enares, and at the Sagar mint, the obverse had the same inscription, but on the reverse the date and place of coinage was different,-4Struck at Farrakhabacl in the year 45 of his prosperous reign.' The Madras rupee hacl a dotted rim on the face, and an indented cord milling ; that coined in Cal cutta had an upright milled ridge ; it has the symbol of a rose on the obverse. The inscriptions are as follow :— The auspicious coin of the warrior king Aziz ud - Din Mahomed, Alaingir (the father of Shah Alain)." Struck at Arcot in the 20th year of his auspicious reign.' The Bombay coin had a plain edge and the following legend :— The auspicious coin of the warrior king Shah 1215.
Struck at Surat in the 46th year of his pro pitious reign.' As before explained, the Bombay, the Madras, and the Farrakhabad or Sonat rupee, had fortuit ously happened to be of nearly the same intrinsic value— Arcot rupee, pure contents, . 165 grains.
Bombay rupee, . 164'7 ,, Farrakhalad rupee, „ . . . 165'2 „ The alteration of the standard of purity in 1818 did not affect the proportion of pure meta1, and when the Sagar mint was established iu 1825, it was ordered to coin the new Farrakhabad rupee of 180 grains weight, the same as the standard of Madras, or containing 165 grains pure.
The inscriptions on the last of the Company's, afterwards adopted as Iler Majesty Queen Vic toria's, silver rupee are as follow :— Obverse— Victoria Queen.' Reverse East India Company, 1840. One Rupee; Ek-IZoopiali.' It is milled upright on the edge. The rupee of Queen Victoria, after annexing India to the crown, has obverse—` Victoria Queen,' with crowned bust. Reverse—‘ One Rupee. India, 1862.' The anna is the sixteenth part of a rupee ; there is no anna piece in British India but the last coin of the E.I. Company and the first of Queen Victoria have a quarter anna and it half anna and a one-twelfth anna or one pai coin. That of tho El, Company had—obverise—A shield supported by a lion and a unicorn rampant, surrounded with a lion rampant, and the words Auspicio regis et Senatus Anglite,' Reverse of half anna of the East India Company—' Ilalf alma, Do Pai.' Re
verse of quarter anna—East India Company. Ono quarter arum., Ek-Pai.' The Pai or one-twelfth anna has,—obverse—` Victoria Queen.' Reverse— ' One-twelfth anna. India, 1862: On the 31st August 18:15, five rupees, viz. the Sicca, the Farraklutbad, the Surat, the Bombay, and the Arcot or Madras, were the only legal tender in British India, within their apecified local limits. On the following day, 1st September 1835, Act xvii. of 1635 took effect ; it directed the coinage of a Company's rupee weighing 180 grains, of a standard lithe or 165 grains of pure silver, and 112th or 15 grains of alloy, and declared it equivalent to the Bombay, Madras, Farrakliabad, and Surat rupees, and to iatlis of the Calcutta Sicea rupee.
In 1836, an Act discontinued the Sicca rupee as legal tender in discharge of any debt, but per mitted its receipt by collectors of land revenue, or by weight, and subject to a charge of 1 per cent. for re-coinage.
In 1862, after the E.I. Company was deprived of their power to rule India, and its government was assumed by the Queen of the United Kingdoin of Great Britain and Ireland, Act xiii. of 1862 continued the weight and finenesa of the coin of 1835, but changed its desig,nation from `Com pany's' to Government.' At present the following British Indian coins are current :— a. Legal tender in satisfaction of all engagements, viz. :—Silver coins—A Government rupee (weight, 180 grains; touch, 916'6). A half rupee (weight, 90 grains; touch, 916'6).
b. Legal tender for frnctions of a rupee only, viz. :— Aquarter of a rupee or four-anna piece (weight, 45grains ; touch, 916'6). An eighth of a rupee or two-anna piece (weight, 221 grains; touch, 916'6).
copper Coins. Weight.
A double pice or anna, . . . 200 grains troy. A pice anna, 100 „ „ A half pice or anna, . . . .50 „ „ A pie, 1A of a pice, or .2,2 anna, 33A „ „ Gold.—The old standard for gold coinage in Bengal was 99i parta of pure gold to of a part of alloy. This was altered by Regulation xiv. of 1818 to iths of pure gold to fl:2th of alloy ; but the law having become inoperative, the old stand ard was reverted to for a time, until Act xvii. of 1835 re-established the standard of lAths fine (Le. = 916.6 touch), but declared that no gold coin should thenceforth be legal tender in India.
Under the Act xvii. of 1835, the following were the coins :—A double gold inoliur, 30 rupees piece; a gold i»olitir (weight, 180 grains), 15 rupees piece ; two-thirds of a gold moliur, 10 rupees piece; one third of a gold mohur, 5 rupees piece.