11) Independent India issues: The evolution of the one-rupee coin , the steady building block of the Indian monetary system
The first time that the design of the one rupee coin issued by Independent India was in 1950, right after the introduction of the distinctive set of coinage issued by Independent India for the first time , termed as the “Anna series”, on 15th August 1950 (after India became a Republic on 26th January 1950). The highest denomination coin which was issued at the Bombay mint in this series was a one rupee coin, having the same size and composition as the final/last “Regal “coins issued in 1947.
The one rupee coin has been a steady outperformer over the past six decades, even though, coins of lesser denominations viz., one paisa, two paise, three paise, five paise and twenty-five paise, have been discontinued at various points of time, keeping in view, costs of minting and inflationary pressures. It has retained it’s status as the constant “bread and butter” coin, or a steady building block of the Indian monetary system.
The 1950 and 1954 (nickel) issues:
The very first issue in 1950 had a nickel composition, and showed the Lion Capital of Emperor Asoka, which had been adopted as the official symbol of the sovereignty of the Government of India on the Obverse, together with the legend “Government of India” mentioned around the Lion Capital. On the reverse, the coin had the numeral “1” in the centre, with an ear of corn flanking either side. The value of the coin “Ek Rupiya” in Hindi was mentioned on top in Hindi, the official language of the Indian nation, while the words “one rupee” were mentioned in English under the numeral “1”, together with the year of issue. The first coins which came into circulation were minted at the Bombay (present day Mumbai) mint. The coin was reminted in 1954. While, I have shown a few denominations which I have in my collection, in my write-up on the “Anna series” elsewhere on my blog.
It is a pity that I do not have any one rupee coins from this period, hence I am unable to display any images here.
1962 and 1970 (nickel) issues:
In 1962 and 1970, the Calcutta (now Kolkata) mint joined Mumbai mint in minting the one Rupee coin under the naya paisa series, which had essentially the same nomenclature and composition as that of the earlier rupee issued by the Bombay mint in 1950.
A pity, that, I have not got specimens of these coins in my collection, for which I started getting serious, only about a year ago.
1975-1982 (cupro-nickel) issues:
During this period, while smaller denomination coins (viz. 10, 5, 2 were being issued in Aluminium –Magnesium compositions – the 3 paise coin having been discontinued in 1972), the higher denominations of 1 rupee, 50 paise and 25 paise were issued in compositions of 75% copper and 25% nickel , (as nickel had become a scarce commodity) . The one rupee coins were much larger coins in size than the present day ones. I happen to have a coin from 1979, which was given to me by my father, and which I have been carrying around in my shoe-box collection as a lucky coin, because, there were numerous occasions when I came close to using this coin, but came into some money , so this coin never got spent.( Remember, that the one rupee coin still had some value in the late seventies/early eighties.
Obverse of the coin minted in 1979. Notice that the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth always prevails) have not made a appearance on this coin, which was introduced in the later series only wef 1983.
Reverse of my 1979 “lucky” coin. The reverse side has a slightly off-centre strike, which made it rather difficult to get the images straight during scanning for this blog. The coin does not have a seven-sided design as in later coins, but has an intricate circular border. It has been minted by Calcutta mint (no mint mark).
Today,(on 24.05.11) , I have acquired another coin from this series which is from 1976, through the efforts of my friend, Krishna Tonpe, who has been a keen helper, in building up my collection. The obverse looks like the coin above, while an image of the reverse is given below:
This coin has been issued by the Bombay mint (Diamond Mint mark below the year of issue).
Today, (on 27.05.11), my neighbour, on knowing about my recent blogging activity gave me a few more coins from this series, images of which I am placing below.
Reverse of one rupee coin from 1975, one of the first few issues in this series, minted at Mumbai mint (diamond mint mark below the year of issue).
Reverse of a coin from Mumbai mint issued in 1977.
Reverse of a coin issued in 1978 by Mumbai mint.
Reverse of a coin issued in 1980 by Mumbai mint.
Reverse of a 1981 issue from Mumbai mint showing the Diamond mint mark below the year of issue.
Reverse of a coin issued in 1982 by Mumbai mint.
1983-1991(cupro-nickel) issues:
A much smaller cupro-nickel rupee coin was brought out during this period, owing to rising costs of metals. These coins during the later part of their production came to be much in demand by hoarders who in quite a few cases melted them for their metal content. Facing a rising shortage of these one rupee coins, the monetary authority placed orders with Royal mint, Birmingham, London and Heaton Press mint, (United Kingdom) in 1985.
The design of this coin also changed to include a seven-sided, septagonal border on a round-coin platform, with a string of sideways beaded diamonds on both sides, making the coin look quite attractive. Also, the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth always Prevails ) have made an appearance for the first time below the Lion Capital on the Obverse side.
Subsequently, with the Noida mint, having supplemented the minting of smaller denomination Ferrite stainless steel (FSS) coins in 1988, supplemented the efforts of the mints at Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad in producing one Rupee (FSS) coins from 1992 onwards.
These coins although still available in circulation are fast becoming scarce, and I believe, that some of them are already finding their way onto International coin auction websites and sell for a few hundreds of rupees, sometimes more.
I have the full series of coins minted during this period in my collection.
Obverse of a much smaller one rupee coin struck in 1983 , showing the words "Satyameva Jayate"(Truth always prevails), below the Lion Capital, for the first time. A seven-sided design has been incorporated around the border adorned with a necklace of diamonds stringed sideways.
Reverse of the 1983 coin minted at the Mumbai mint (showing the diamond mint mark below the year), having the same intricate design as on the obverse , along the border.
Reverse of a 1984 issue from Mumbai mint.
Reverse of a 1985 one rupee coin procured from Royal Mint,Birmingham, London. Notice, that whereas the Mumbai mint coins given above show the mint mark below the middle of the year, here the diamond-dot mint mark has shifted to below the first digit of the year i.e. under the numeral "1".
Reverse of a 1985 one rupee coin minted at the Heaton mint (U.K.). Notice the alphabet "H" under the last digit of the year i.e. "5".
Reverse of a coin minted at Mumbai mint in 1986.
Reverse of a 1987 one rupee coin .This is quite worn-out and is a Kolkata mint issue (no mint mark).
Reverse of a one rupee coin minted at Mumbai mint in 1988.
Reverse of a 1989 rupee coin minted at Mumbai mint.
Reverse of a 1990 rupee coin minted at Mumbai mint.
Reverse of a 1991 one rupee coin minted at Mumbai mint . One of the last few to be minted in this metal composition.
1992- 2004 Ferrite stainless steel (FSS) issues with the familiar old design:
Every Indian is familiar with the design of the one rupee coin having the Lion capital on one side and the numeral “1” flanked by an ear of corn on either side , which was minted in ferrite stainless steel , in it’s last “Avatar” (Hindi term for reincarnation) . It is not uncommon to see street children, tapping on car windows at traffic signals, begging for a one-rupee coin, a practice which I discourage, by giving them toffees & chocolates and getting a grateful smile, in return, with a big “thank you”, instead. Alas, the last ones of these familiar beauties, the steady building block of the Indian monetary system, have been phased out in 2004.
The Indian monetary authority has, also, got one rupee coins minted by the Mexico City mint in 1997 and by the Kremnca mint in 1998-2000, to boost the internal production, but, now India has achieved self-sufficiency in meeting out our coin production requirements, with the currency and coin minting units having been all brought under the umbrella of SPMCIL (Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd.)
I have collected all the coins issued from 1992-2004 in the FSS avatar, which are fast disappearing from circulation, too, because, the newer designs are steadily coming into circulation.
Reverse of 1992 FSS coin from Hyderabad mint (mint mark - 5 pointed star under the year of issue). This is one of the first few coins minted with the new composition of metals.Notice how the intricate pattern around the border has now been done away with on both sides of the coin.
Reverse of a 1993 issue from the Noida mint (mint mark-a small dot under the year of issue).
Reverse of a 1994 coin issued by Mumbai mint (diamond mark below the year).
Reverse of a 1995 issue from the Hyderabad mint. Can you identify the mint mark?
Reverse of a 1996 issue from Noida mint. Can you identify the mint mark?
Reverse of a 1997 issue from the Mumbai mint. Can you identify the mint mark?
Reverse of another 1997 issue. Can you identify the mint mark? Sorry, that was a trick question. This is the mint mark of the Mexican city mint, from where India procured one rupee coins in 1997 only, to supplement the domestic production. The "OM" below the year is not the yogic chant which most of us are familiar with, but stands for "OESCHGER MASDACH & CO", the Company which has minted these coins for India.
Reverse of a 1998 issue from the Mumbai mint.
Reverse of a 1998 issue from the Kremnca mint (Slovakian Republic) which looks like a "smiley" below the year of issue. It is actually the letters"MK" inside a inside a circle. Quite a few kids that I have infected the bug of coin collecting recently, instantly, identify and catalog this coin as the "smiley" foreign mint issue. The Kremnca mint issued the one rupee coin over three years 1998-2000, to supplement the domestic production in India.
Okay, so which mint(s) are these two coins minted in 1999 and 2000 from?
And this one?
Reverse of a one rupee coin issued from Hyderabad mint.
Reverse of a 2002 coin from the Mumbai mint. Sorry about the slightly tilted image. This is the best ,that, I could get after 8-9 tries, because the reverse of this coin has a slight off-strike.
Reverse of a 2003 coin from Mumbai mint. No excuses here for the slight tilt in the image. Just plain clumsiness!!
Reverse of a rupee coin issued by Noida mint. This is one of the last issues where one sees the familiar old design with the numeral "1" with an ear of corn flanking either side. So, collect as many of these as possible, because, these coins are fast getting out of circulation and replaced by newer designs.
2005 onwards Ferrite stainless steel (FSS) issues with newer themes:
The “bread and butter “ one rupee coins , with a constant message of laying stress on food production, over the past six decades , have now been replaced by newer themes of “Unity in Diversity” (2005 and 2006) and “A raised thumb representing the numeral “1”shown in a Dance mudra” by a lady’s hand, probably in a Bharat Natyam pose( 2007 onwards). The Regulators are probably passing on a message to users , that, the country is now quite self sufficient in food production, therefore, a constant reminder to “grow more food” is not required now. Also, the Thumbs-up sign is, probably a signal for the country to look forward to the next phase of development.
The Unity in Diversity coins , images of which I have given below, remind me of the “Knots & Crosses” game, therefore, I fondly refer to them as the “Dots and crosses” coins. As regards the symbols,”1” being represented by the raised thumb in one rupee coins, a “V” sign in two rupee coins, and a “clenched fist” in 50 paise coins, the coin designers, also, had in mind to help out visually challenged users, too, so as to, help them “read” the values of these coins, with these raised images . This is, by default, a noble tribute to Louis Braille ,too, whose bi-centenary in 2009 was celebrated by commemorative coins issued by the Reserve Bank of India in the same year.
We are waiting for the one rupee coins to be put into circulation during 2011 and wondering what new theme/designs they will contain?
I have collected all the specimens of the coins from 2005 onwards, images of which are displayed here.
Obverse of the new design with the theme "Unity in Diversity". This side shows the words "Bharat" in Hindi and "India" in English above the two parallel lines. It shows the Lion Capital with the words "Satyameva Jayate" below it, and the numeral "1" in between the two parallel lines, and the year of issue 2005, below the parallel lines. No mint mark indicates, that it is a Kolkata mint issue.
Reverse of the above 2005 coin showing the "Unity in Diversity" theme. My nickname for this coin is the "Dots & cross(es)" coin.
Obverse of the coin as above, issued by Noida mint in 2006 (Dot mint mark, below the year). These coin designs are no longer being minted and will be collector's items in a few years from now.
A new design was introduced in 2007, where the numeral "1" has been taken off the Obverse and is shown on the reverse. This coin is a Noida mint issue.
Reverse of the same coin with the numeral "1" on top with the words "rupiya" in Hindi and "Rupee" in English below it. The Hindi word is above the English word, as a mark of respect to the Official language of India. A lady's hand in a dance pose, gives the thumbs-up , which also indicates 1 as the value of the coin.
Obverse of a coin minted in 2008 by Noida mint. The reverse is similar to the above coin, hence not shown here.
Obverse of the one rupee coin minted in 2009 by Mumbai mint.
Obverse of a one-rupee coin minted in 2010 by Mumbai mint.
Obverse of a one-rupee coin issued by the Hyderabad Mint ("five-pointed Star mint mark" below the year of issue) in 2011. This coin is one of the last few issues in this design, since a new design one-rupee coin has also been introduced in 2011.
Posted on 16.08.2011:
My friend Krishna Tonpe has just given my a new design one-rupee coin issued from Mumbai mint in 2011. The coin is more or less the size of a 50-paisa coin .
The obverse of the one-rupee coin as above issued in 2011, showing the Lion Capital with the words "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth always Prevails) below the Lion Capital. On the sides are the words "Bharat" in Hindi and "India" in English.
The reverse of the coin shows, on either side, a lotus in full bloom on a stalk which culminates in a lotus bud. (Lotus is the National flower of India). This design has been taken from the five rupee design which has been prevalent since 1992. On top of the coin is the new rupee symbol , below which is the numeral "1". On the bottom of the coin is the year of issue 2011. This coin has been issued by Mumbai mint. Notice the diamond mint mark below the year of issue.
Posted on 02.06.12:
The reverse of the coin issued in the year 2012. This
coin has been issued by Mumbai mint. Notice the diamond mint mark below
the year of issue.
Posted on 11.06.14:
Just got my first 2014 one rupee coin from general circulation.
The reverse of this coin issued in the year 2014. It has also, been issued by Mumbai mint. Notice the diamond mint mark below the year of issue.
Posted on 02.03.2015:
Rahul Kumar is an avid numismatist based in Hyderabad, who has an interest in the historical development of coins across the World. He has written several detailed articles on coins and has forwarded me the undernoted interesting charts where he has highlighted representative samples of all one rupee coins scanned together to illustrate the relative decrease in size of one rupee coins over time an area that he has extensively researched upon.
The above is a paper titled" One Rupee - A global Standard (1835-1936)", in which Rahul has explained in detail how the "British Indian Silver rupee was a global standard currency that was used for trade far and wide (Middle east to south East Asia) and that it remained absolurely stable for over a 100 years with practically no change in metal composition and dimensions". This chart includes images of various one rupee issues with descriptions of the obverse & reverse faces as well as a commentary outlining his findings.
The above is a paper titled" One Rupee - Now worth just a Penny (1939-2013"), in which Rahul has explained in detail how"with rising inflation, the value of the rupee has depreciated over the years, which is reflected in changing size, weight and composition of the rupee coins. The rupee is now worth only a penny, whereas at the time of Independence (Aug 1947) it was worth a dollar (USD). (In a lighter vein, it makes one wonder whether our policies and initiatives since Independence to present day are somewhat skewed?)
A chart prepared by Rahul on the shrinking size of the one rupee coin.
Posted on 05.03.2015:
Jayant Biswas just got me my first 2015 one rupee coin received by him from general circulation.
This is the reverse face of the coin issued by the Mumbai mint in 2015 with its distinguishing diamond mint mark below the year of issue.
Posted on 11.04.2016:
I got the undernoted coin from general circulation when we were purchasing some provisions from a Mall:
The Reverse of this coin which was issued in the year 2016. It has also, been
issued by Mumbai mint. It carries the diamond mint mark of the Mumbai Mint below
the year of issue.
Posted on 14.07.2017:
I have collected this coin from general circulation at a vegetable vendor's outlet:
The Reverse of this coin shows the year of issue as 2017. It bears the "diamond" mint mark of the Mumbai Mint below
the year of issue.
Posted on 20.09.2018:
I have finally managed to collect the first Re 1/- Coin issued in 2018 from a Guava seller:
The Reverse of this coin shows the year of issue as "2018" and bears a similar design as the earlier issues. Notice the "diamond" mint mark of the Mumbai Mint below the year of issue.
Posted on 05.03.2015:
Jayant Biswas just got me my first 2015 one rupee coin received by him from general circulation.
Posted on 11.04.2016:
I got the undernoted coin from general circulation when we were purchasing some provisions from a Mall:
Posted on 14.07.2017:
I have collected this coin from general circulation at a vegetable vendor's outlet:
Posted on 20.09.2018:
I have finally managed to collect the first Re 1/- Coin issued in 2018 from a Guava seller:
Some interesting links on Indian coins on this Blog:
Links to other posts on Indian Currency/Banknote denominations on this blog:
10) Did-you-know-series-1: Assists for identification of Currency Notes by visually challenged users
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