3) EDWARD VII KING & EMPEROR

EDWARD VII:

Before his ascension to the throne, Edward held the title of Prince of Wales and was heir apparent to the throne more than anyone else in history of Britain. In 1875, Edward came on a 8-month tour of India  laid stress on  treating all people the same, regardless of their social status or colour. In letters home, he complained of the treatment of the native Indians by the British officials on grounds that they followed different  religions from the British and had a different colour.

 At the end of the tour, his mother was given the title Empress of India by Parliament, in part as a result of the tour's success

When Empress Victoria died on 22^nd January 1901 Edward became King of the United Kingdom and British Dominions and Emperor of India chose to reign under the name Edward VII, instead of Albert Edward—the name his mother had chosen  for him, because he did not wish to "undervalue the name of Albert" and diminish the status of his father . He also chose the number VII which had been hitherto omitted in Scotland as a protest that the earlier Edwards were English Kings who had no right to rule Scotland by virtue of battle. Even though he is said to have had countless love affairs and illicit liaisons, he is said to be the most popular King England had known since the earlier 1660s.

Edward ruled from 22nd January 1901 until his death on 6th May 1910.

Coinage in India was issued in his name from 1903 to 1910.

King Edward VII coins are distinct as the head is uncrowned. This mix-up apparently happened because although Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901, Edward's coronation was not held till 9 August 1902. As such , he could not be shown to be wearing a crown till the time of his formal coronation.The practice of showing his effigy without a crown continued till the end of his reign ( instead a crown was shown on the reverse side of the coins issued to indicate that the coins were issued by the crown). 

To rectify this anomaly a  rupee was designed only in 1910 but could not be issued for general circulation because Edward died in the same year.

 However, there is an exception : in 1906 a cupro-nickel coin of one anna denomination was introduced. These coins do have the King wearing the Crown, and would be quite unique possessions. This coin was also unique in the sense that on the reverse side, four Indian languages were shown besides English ,as against the practice of issuing silver coins in English and Persian (the court language in India), and copper coins only in English.

During the reign of Edward VII,coins were issued in the following denominations:

silver - one rupee, half rupee, quarter rupee and two annas, 

Copper - quarter anna, half pice and 1/12 anna.

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I have two Quarter annas  which are shown here and are from 1906 and 1910.

The 1/4 Anna coin during Edward’s reign  was issued  by the  Calcutta(now Kolkata) mint only . Accordingly it bears no mint marks, a practice adopted by the Kolkata mint to the present day.

 In 1906 the composition of the metal used was changed to bronze from copper primarily due  to a steep increase in the price of copper.  Nevertheless, both versions of the coin were minted in 1906.

Edward VII was popularly known in India as the "ganja raja" (or bald king - primarily because his portraits did not depict him wearing a crown) and silver coins of his reign still sell in many parts of India under the same nickname.

I have silver coins from Edward VII's period all except from 1908 and 1909 which I am giving below mint wise, i.e Bombay mint and Calcutta mint:

 The portrait of Edward VII appears as above on all the siver coins on the obverse, hence is not being repeated here onwards, and I am showing only the reverse sides of the two mints below:

Bombay mint rupee issues:

How does one know that these coins are from Bombay mint? The identification mark is quite simple and easy. There is a small dot just above the last bud on the stem on the right hand side leaf and floral pattern which is a Bombay mint mark. This is made amply clear from the picture given below:

 The dot on the Bombay mint coins have been replaced by a diamond below the year of issue in present day issues.

Calcutta mint coins:

 Notice that there are no mint marks on these coins.

Now for another interesting piece of information. 

Take a look at the image of this quarter anna post card from the early part of Edward VII’s reign which was in use in India .(Notice the words India Post Card on the top). This post card was in my father’s collection, which I found recently while rummaging through some old stuff and had been mentioned by him as “one paisa post” which actually is the equivalent of one quarter anna (one rupee consisting of 16 annas or 64 paise).    

I am not showing the reverse side of this postcard, which is actually a printed invitation from the clinical society to the medical doctors of King George’s Medical College, Lucknow, (of which my father was an alumnus), to bring references of clinical cases with them for discussion.

Notice something different about Edward’s portrait on the stamp. No? Can’t make out the difference? 

Well , as opposed to his image on the coins I have given above, where he is facing right, on this stamp he is facing left. Also, while he was called the “Ganja Raja”(bald king) because the images on the coin dies of Bombay and Calcutta mints presented him as such , he is not actually bald, as can be seen from the image on the postage stamp.

 

The image on the left hand side is the Ornamental coat of Arms of British Royalty with a Lion and a Unicorn flanking a cshield having inset lions and a small lion on top of the British crown .The words on the circle are “HONI.SOIT.QUI.MAL.Y.PENSE” meaning “ Shame upon him who thinks evil upon it” and is the motto of the “Order of the Garter”  an order of chivalrous Knights founded in the 1340s by King Edward III.

 Below the above insignia/shield , appears a scroll with the words “DIEU ET MON DROIT” which is the motto of the British monarchs which means “God and my right” . It refers to the god-given right of the monarch to govern , which right the monarch will stoutly defend. This motto was adopted for the first time by Henry V sometime in the fifteenth century.

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