1) EAST INDIA COMPANY QUARTER ANNA COPPER COIN WHICH IS ONE OF THE FIRST ISSUES UNDER THE COINAGE ACT 1835

In 1833,  the Governor General Lord William Cavendish Bentinck approved  a plan by the Calcutta mint for standardizing the coinage of the British Empire in India, which was passed into an Act termed “The Coinage Act” by the Governor General Sir Charles Metcalf on August 17, 1835. The single coinage for the East India Company consisted of Copper coins (1/12 , quater and half annas), silver coins ( quarter, half and one rupee) and gold mohurs (one and two rupees) . In 1841 silver two annas were added . This coinage continued even after the East India Company was taken over by the Crown and these coins were issued till 1862.

The quarter anna coin depicted here was one of the first issues under the standard coinage. It's details and dimensions are as under:

Quarter anna (Copper) : Plain edge: Size: 25.3/26.2 mm. Weight: 6.47 grams. Issue date: 1835.

The obverse side shows the Coat of Arms of the East India Company.

This coin, which is the oldest in my collection, was given to me by my uncle, from his collection together with quite a few other silver coins which I  have placed in my succeeding posts .

The Bank of Madras (1843), a Presidency Bank, one of the precursors of the State Bank of India (the others being - The Bank of Bengal (1806) , and the 2 other Presidency Banks-The Bank of Calcutta (1809), Bombay (1840) ,  also had as its  emblem the Coat of Arms of the East India Company.

How do I know this? 

I was recently invited to the State Bank Of India , Main Branch, Pune, by the Branch Assistant General Manager ,who was an old friend, and asked to put up my coin collection ,as an exhibit, in the Heritage Gallery set up at the Branch. It was the first time that I noticed this emblem which was on display at the Branch , in conjunction with my coins. Imagine, I had worked for 24 years in the State Bank of India. without noticing this !!

 An image of the emblem/seal of the Bank of Madras , a Presidency Bank established on 1st July 1843.

 Take a look at this first day cover issued by the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department in 2005. This cover was issued to commemorate the two hundred years of Banking heritage of the State Bank of India, which commenced from the creation of the Bank of Bengal in 1806. 

Notice that on the 15 rupee stamp , just above the Bank Building is the Stamp of the Imperial Bank of India, which was later converted to the State Bank of India on July 1st 1955. Notice, also, that the Imperial Bank stamp shows the three lions standard/emblem which is the same as that on my two East India Company coins above. 

In other words, the East India Company standard was not only adopted by the Bank of Madras, but was also carried forward, with minor variations, when the three Presidency Banks merged to form the Imperial Bank of India in 1921.

The emblem of the Inperial Bank of India adopted upon its creation in 1921.

The above emblem continued till 1955, when State Bank of India adopted the "Banyan tree" symbol, given at the bottom right hand side of the 15 rupee stamp. The Banyan tree symbol later got changed to the Circle with a "common man holding centre-stage" (and various other interpretations, which I have covered under the post numbered 23 ("Celebrating 200 years of glorious heritage of the State Bank of India in 2006"). 

The following coin scan of a King William IV silver one rupee coin is from the collection of Jayant Biswas:

 The specifications of this coin are: Denomination: One Rupee. Metal composition: Silver. Edge: Grained. Size: 30.50 or 30.70 mm Weight: 11.66 gms. The Obverse has a portrait of King William facing left with the inscription "WILLIAM IIII, KING" on the upper periphery.

 Reverse of the above coin. "EAST INDIA COMPANY" is mentioned on the upper Periphery. The denomination/value of the coin "ONE RUPEE" is mentioned in the centre of the coin and the year of issue "1835" is at the lower periphery indicating that this is, also,one of the first few issues under "The Coinage Act 1835". The languages used are English and Persian. King William silver coins were withdrawn from circulation in 1896.

REFERENCE LINKS: 

1) STATE BANK OF INDIA POST :

http://exclusivecoins.blogspot.in/2011/06/23celebrating-two-hundred-years-of.html

2) For Porcelain displaying East India Company Emblem from 17th to 20th century A.D. at Fort St. George Museum, Chennai (previously, Madras), please click on under-noted Link:

 http://exclusivecoins.blogspot.in/2013/01/did-you-know-series-15-fort-st-george.html

3) For  Post which includes "Coins of the Madras, Bengal and Bombay Presidencies , the Mughals, the Southern Kingdoms - the Nayaks, Travancore State and Mysore Kingdom, Tippu and Nawabs of Arcot etc." , please click on the Link below:

http://exclusivecoins.blogspot.in/2013/01/did-you-know-series-15-fort-st-george_9.html 

Some other Links:

British Crown Dependencies:

1) Specimen Banknotes from the States of Jersey

2) Coinage and Currency from the States of Jersey

3) Currency & Coinage of the Bailiwick of Guernsey

4) Currency & Coinage of Gibraltar : An Overseas Territory of Great Britain

5) Coinage of Gibraltar: (A British Overseas Territory): An Uncirculated Decimal Coin Collection Set minted by the Tower Mint, UK in 2010
  
6) The Isle of Man: An Uncirculated Decimal Coin Collection Set minted by Pobjoy Mint, UK in 2015

7) The Centenary of the ill-fated Titanic (15.04.1912 - 15.04.2012): An Alderney Five Pound Coin Commemorating the Maritime Legend

8) "Man of Steel": A Superman Movie: A set of stamps brought out in 2013 by Jersey post, the States of Jersey, commemorating Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill who played Superman in the Movie

9) Coins & Currency of Bermuda

10) The Bailiwick of Jersey - Presently circulating coinage - Pounds and Pence 

11) St. Helena & Ascension Islands: An Uncirculated Coin Set from 2003 

12) The Legend of the "HMAV Bounty" is interwoven with the heritage of the Pitcairn Islands: An uncirculated coin set from Pitcairn Islands in 2009 depicting the icons/relics of the Bounty minted by the New Zealand Mint 

Famous Battles: 

1) Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's Exile to St. Helena: (Part I): A One Crown Commemorative coin issued by the Ascension Island (minted by Pobjoy Mint UK) 

2) Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's Exile to st. Helena: (Part II) 1) A 5 GBP Coin issued by the Royal Mint UK. 2) A"Drie Landen Zilverset" ( ot the "Three Lands Silver set") containing coins issued by the Royal Dutch Mint including coins of Netherlands, Belgium and UK

3) Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain by issuing a 50 Pence coin by the Royal Mint UK

Gold Coins:
  
1) Gold Sovereigns issued in 2013 & 2014 by MMTC-PAMP in India under licence from the Royal Mint, UK, carrying the "I" Mint Mark

2) Gold Half-Sovereigns minted by MMTC-PAMP in India in 2014 under licence from the Royal Mint UK bearing the "I" Mint Mark 

Silver Coins:

1) A 20 Pound Silver coin minted for the first timr by the royal Mint UK: reverse design carries the famous St. George slaying the dragon design found on Gold Sovereigns 

British India Coinage:

 1) East India Company Quarter Anna Copper Coin which is one of the first issues under the Coinage Act 1835

2) Victoria Coinage: When she was Queen and afterwards Empress

3) Edward VII: King & Emperor  Coinage

4) George V King Emperor Coinage

5) George VI: The last of the British India Emperors Coinage 

Other British Royalty: 

1) Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations (1952-2012): A Five Pound Commemorative coin issued by the Royal Mint, UK

2) Commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953: A Five Pound Coin minted by the Royal Mint UK in 2013, depicting the Imperial State Crown

3) The Royal Coat of Arms of the UK: Great British 2012 Coin Set (Uncirculated) issued by the Royal Mint UK

4) Prince George's Christening Ceremony celebrated with coins issued by the Royal Mint UK in 2013

5) The British Empire:  A Case of Numismatic "segregation": (Guest Post by Rahul Kumar)

6) 1) The Portrait Collection: Various Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II on Coinage 2) The Fourth & Final Circulating coinage of the Portrait designed by Ian Rank-Broadley and the First Edition of the portrait of the Queen made by Jody Clark

 British Coinage:

1) The contribution of the Great British One-Pound coins in keeping alive the historical legends/emblems/heritage of the UK (1983 onwards)

2) Transformation of a Five shilling Coin (Crown) into the UK Twenty-five Pence & then the Five Pound Coin

3) Transformation of the Two Shilling Coin (Florin) Coin into the UK Ten Pence

4) The 350th Anniversary of the Guinea: A Two Pound Coin issued by the Royal Mint UK celebrating the milestone

 Commemorative British Coinage:

 1) Commemorating the Bicentenary of Charles Dickens: A Two pound coin celebrating his literary contributions during the Victorian Era

 2) Commemorating 50 Years of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - presently called the World Wide Fund for Nature by issue of a Fifty Pence coin by the Royal Mint, UK

3) Coins commemorating London Olympics & Paralympics (2012)

4) Commemorating 150 Years of the London Underground : Two pound Coins minted by the Royal Mint UK, showing the "Roundel" logo and a train emerging from a tunnel 

5) Commemorating the 100th Birth anniversary of Christopher Ironside with his" Royal Arms" design on a 50 Pence coin issued by the Royal Mint, UK 

6) 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta - the Universal Guidepost to Liberty and Freedom

Inspirations from Scottish History: 

1) The Legend of King Bruce & the Spider on Banknotes

Banknotes from Scotland:
  
1) Commemorating Sir William Arrol and his creation the Forth Rail Bridge by issues of Britain's first ever 5 Pound Polymer Banknote