Notes on Colonial Coins 1968 Bnj 37 19

8/20/2019 Notes on Colonial Coins 1968 Bnj 37 19

1/17

N O T E S O N C O L O N I A L C O I N S

Mr. A. P. SP EN CE R, Ar t i s t /E ngra ver , H is Majes ty 's Mint , Calcut ta an d the re-designed

Coinages of King George VI Bri t ish India 1938-1947.

By

F . P R I D M O R E

IN The Daily Telegraph, May 11, 1967, the death was announced of Albert Pearson Spencer ,

Art is t Engraver . No other detai ls were given but Mr. Spencer f i l led the posi t ion of Art is t /

Engraver a t His Majes ty 's Mint , Calcut ta , India , dur ing the per iod 1926-1945. He was the

Art is t and Engraver responsible for re-designing the Bri t ish Indian coinage of King George VI

and cons iderable numismat ic in teres t a t t aches to h i s work.

B I O G R A P H Y .

Alber t Pe arson Spencer , Ar t i s t /Eng raver , His M ajes ty 's Mint , Calcut ta , 1926-1945, b .

12 June 1887, d. 9 May 1967.

Ed uca ted a t the Carpen ters ' Com pany School a t St ra t ford , Lond on, E. Served a seven year

apprent iceship wi th the Ha mp stead fi rm of Mansel l, H un t , Ca t ty Co. Lt d .

After his apprent iceship in 1909 he joined the f i rm of Messrs . John Pinches, Ltd, the

London Medall is ts , serving as an improver and later as an engraver where he spent 13 years

before set t ing up in business on his own in 1922. During his employment with Messrs . Pinches

he engraved coinage dies for some South American countr ies . The dies were cut at Pinches

but the ac tua l coins were s t ruck a t The Mint , B i rmingham, Ltd . Also dur ing the per iod wi th

Messrs . Pinches, Mr. Spencer became f inancial ly interested in, and undertook a considerable

am ou nt of work for , th e now defu nc t f irm of Frig ou t Mil lbank, a f irm of En gra ver s in

Aldersgate Street , E.C.I . For many years he was also an Instructor in die s inking, engraving,

drawing and model l ing at L.C.C. evening classes.

In June 1923, he star ted engraving for the Royal Mint on a contract basis , at f i rs t working

f rom his own premises and la te r a t the Mint . On 5 June 1924, he was nominated to the

Treasury for permanent employment and hi s 'Cer t i f i ca te of Qual i f ica t ion ' was i ssued on

10 December 1924. He remained on the permanent s ta f f of the Royal Mint as an Engraver

unt i l he resigned on the 16 December 1925, to take up the posi t ion of Art is t /Engraver at the

Calcut ta Mint—a pos t which became vacant in 1922 through the re t i rement of F . K. Wezel ,

whose f i rs t appointment to the Calcut ta Mint had taken place on 1st October 1893.

Mr. Spencer sai led for India on 24 December 1925, and in India he f i l led the post of Art is t /

Engraver a t the Calcut ta Mint f rom the 30th January 1926, unt i l he proceeded on leave

pending re t i rem ent on 12 Ju ne 1945. Af ter h i s dep ar ture , Mr . P . W . M. Br indley, former ly th e

Ass i s tant Ar t i s t /Engraver a t the Calcut ta Mint and who had been appointed to the pos t of

Ar t i s t /Engraver a t the Bombay Mint in October 1941, cont inued as Ar t i s t /Engraver for both

the Bombay and Calcut ta mints for the remainder of the Br i t i sh per iod.

Although not a numismatist , Mr. Spencer possessed a number of specimens of the coins and

medals for which he was responsible and in addi t ion his col lect ion included some earl ier

Br i t i sh Ind ian coins suppl ied to h im f rom th e Calcut ta Mint cab ine t which he used and

studied when preparing his models for the new coinage of King George VI. A number of the

Bri t ish Ind ian coins in Mr. Spe ncer 's collection were incorp orated in th e wri t er 's cabin et and


2/17


3/17

1 60 NO TE S ON C OL ON I AL C OI N S 1 60

Calcut ta date ser ies with the eff igy of George V is cont inuous for the period 1924 to 1930 and

1933 to 1936, all da tes inclusive.

Experiments towards the st r iking of a bet ter f inished Anna commenced in 1929. In that

year some specimen coins were st ruck at Calcut ta which show a different s tyle. On one variety

the r im is wider , qui te pronounced, and f lat on both sides. The obverse design is f rom a normal

punch but the bust is smaller than on the currency issue, while the reverse has small f ine let ters

and f igures, part icular ly in the nat ive inscript ions and date numerals (Fig. 4) . Another has

the pronounced r im but rounded and not so f lat . The obverse st i l l shows a small bust , and the

reverse is almost ident ical with the normal currency issue (Fig. 5) .

FIG. 4

Specimen Annas

1929

Calcutta Mint

FIG. 5

Calcut ta suspended the mint ing of the Anna in 1931 and the exper iments for a be t te r coin

ceased unt i l 1933 when product ion recommenced. Fur ther exper iments s ta r ted , the f i r s t of

which was the use of an edged

circular

blank ins tead of the cus tomary unedged

scalloped

blank, but this was not successful .

Changes were then m ade in the me thod of cut t ing th e sca lloped blanks and af te r some t r ia l s

a sa t i s fac tory solut ion resul ted . A grea t ly improved r im margin was achieved and a l l the

Calcut ta G eorge V Anna coins bear ing the da te s 1933-1936 show the imp rove me nt .

1 9 3 7 . S T A N D A R D S I Z E S F O R T H E 2 A N D 1 A N N A I N T R O D U C E D .

In 1936 when pre l iminary pre para t io ns were in hand for the task of producing new dies

for the coinage , necess i ta ted by the access ion of King Edward VII I , an examinat ion of the 2

an d 1 An na coins s t ruc k at the Bo m ba y and C alcut ta m ints revealed sl ight differences in s ize

and shape . This was e l iminated by the product ion of mas ter models of the 2 and 1 Anna

formers . Formers f rom these models were sent to Bombay and the las t coins of these two

denom inat ions i ssued f rom th e Bo mb ay a nd C alcut ta m ints bear ing th e ef figy of George V

were ident ical in s ize and shape.

Inv est ig at ion in to the proba ble cause for th e differences in th e coins of th e two m int s

produced some interest ing detai ls .

Th e 1 A nn a nickel coin was f irst s t ruck a t th e Bo m bay m int in 1907 and con t inue d to be

s t ruck there unt i l 1924, when the Calcut ta mint s ta r ted to s t r ike th i s va lue . The in t roduct ion

of a 1 An na coin, to be st ruc k in cupro-nickel , ha d been provision al ly determ ined in 1904, and

pre l iminary exper iments were made a t Bombay wi th the objec t of in t roducing a s ingular

shap e for a nickel coin in ord er to pre ve nt confusion with a higher valued si lver coin.

The f i rs t idea was to produce a coin with a central hole and a pat tern 1 Anna of 1904 shows

the intended design. (See

Num. Circ.

July/August 1964, page 166, Fig. 1) . This was not ap-

proved . At tem pts were then m ade to produce a coin wi th an eccent r ic hole , bu t th i s fa iled and


4/17


161

fu rth er efforts were directed to produ cing a coin wit h a scalloped outline, the shap e of which

was suggested by Captain A. L. C. McCormick, E.E., the n Master of the B om bay Mint .

Considerable diff iculty was experienced in th e Bom bay M int in the pre para tion of m ast er

tools for a scalloped shape. A pa tte rn A nna dat ed 1905 has 16 sides (Kg . 6), bu t this num be r of

scallops did no t provide a suff iciently ma rked distinctiv e shape from a norma l circular coin

and a 12-sided shape was eventually determined as that most suitable. In their initial pre-

paration of the master tools, the Mint could not get all the 12 sides equal—a scalloped blank,

wh en cut fro m th e m eta l str ip, to be pe rfect ha d to be cap able of being replaced in th e

hole at any point of i ts circumference. This called for a cutting tool engineered to a very high

degree of precision and accordingly a request was made to the Royal Mint, London. However,

a nickel Anna coin had been sanctioned for circulation by Act No. I ll of 1906, and it was

imperative that production be commenced as soon as possible. Bombay persevered and f inally

succeeded in producing master tools for the desired shape. Formers from these tools were made

and production of the nickel Anna commenced in June 1907. The Royal Mint tools arr ived in

Bombay in October, 1907, but were never brought into use in that Mint. .

A point concerning the scalloped form of outline is the claim by the Royal Mint, London,

that they pioneered this innovation for the coinage of India in 1907 (see Annual Report of the

Royal Mint 1939-1944, page 4), bu t as relat ed above, the idea originated in th e Ind ian M int

and t he f irst prod uctio n form ers were made the re prior to th e receipt of the R oya l M int m odels.

When the Calcu t ta Mint commenced the mint ing of the Anna denominat ion in 1923/1924,

it would seem th a t their form ers were supplied from Bo m bay b ut th e differences arose in 1933

when Calcu t ta made improvements to the edge and margin of the co in .

W hy th ere sho uld hav e been differences in the size and shape of th e 2 An nas coins canno t b e

determined. Experiments for a 2 Annas nickel coin commenced in the Calcutta Mint in April

FIG. 7. Brass test block cut with the model former made in the Calcutta Mint for the Ceylon

10 Cents in 1944.

FIG. 6. Pattern 1 Anna 1905, Bombay Mint.

M


5/17

1 62 NO TE S ON C O LON I AL C OI NS 1 62

1917 and th e des ign was appro ved in Jan ua ry 1918. I t i s noted in the records th a t t he Bom bay

Mint were suppl ied wi th punche s by Calcut ta , an d the 2 Annas coin f rom bo th min ts ought to

have been equal .

An i tem of some interest f rom the Spencer col lect ion is a circular brass test block that has

been cut by an 8 sided scal loped former and the scal loped shape can be replaced into the hole

at any point . This was a test of the master model former made by Mr. Spencer for the nickel-

brass Ceylon 10 Cents introduced in 1944 (Fig. 7) .

1 9 3 7 . P A T T E R N 2 A N N A S .

At the t ime of the compara t ive examinat ion of the two nickel denominat ions , Mr . Spencer

pre pare d new designs for the nickel 2 An nas. Th e reverse of th e coin was com pletely al tered an d

a modif icat ion was made to the obverse. The size of the piece was increased and the corners

were rounded off .

Tw o reverse designs were pre pare d an d the dies were cut by han d. The f irst var iety shows th e

suggested d esign on a plain field, while on the second th e sam e design, bu t with smaller f igures

and numerals , is placed within a toothed circular border and the four corners showing the

decorat ive ornament are on a raised table (Figs. 8 and 9) .

W he n th e new 2 An nas coins were issued with th e eff igy of George VI in 1939 their design

fol lowed closely th e second variet y of the 1937 pa t ter ns , an d for th e reverse only minor changes

were made in the ar rangement of the na t ive inscr ip t ions and the s ize of the le t t e rs and

numerals . On the obverse the toothed circular border was also incorporated (see Fig. 14) .

I t wil l be no ted from th e i l lustrat ions (Figs. 8 an d 9) th at th e obverses of th e p at t er ns bear

th e effigy an d t i t les of Kin g George V. A 3 inch har de ned steel mod el of th e crowned eff igy of

King Edward VII I wi thout inscr ip t ion, for use in prepar ing coinage punches , was sent to the

Calcut ta mint by the Royal Mint , London, a t the end of October 1936.

Mr. Spencer was on leave during the later part of the year and recol lected having received a

le t te r f rom the Ass i s tant Engraver repor t ing tha t punches prepared f rom the model had spl i t

durin g harden ing. No obverse dies were pre pare d bearing th e effigy and t i t les of Kin g Ed w ard

VII I , as by the t ime Mr . Spencer re turned to India f rom leave , the King had abdica ted in

favo ur of h i s brothe r Kin g George VI . The E dw ard V II I e f figy ma s ter model and a ll reduct ions

were returned to the Royal Mint in 1937.

A 3 inch redu ct ion p un ch of th e crowned eff igy of Kin g George VI w as received in the Cal-

cut ta Mint f rom the Royal Mint on 15th March, 1937, but coinage punches f rom thi s model

were not made unt i l 1938.

Calcutta Mint Pattern 2 Annas

1937

FIG. 8. l s f variety.

FIG . 9 . 2nd variety.


6/17


163

As it was necessary for the new designs to be sent to Delhi for approval and the obverse of

th e coins also showed a difference from th e existing 2 Ann as obverse, Mr. Spencer use d an

exis t ing George V punch in their p repa rat ion , thu s creat ing two very in teres t ing mule pat tern s .

1 9 3 8 . T H E N E W C O IN A G E O E G E O R G E V I

George V I ascended the throne in December 1936 following the abdication of his brother

E d w a r d V I I I .

FIG. 10. Pattern Rupee 1910, Calcutta Mint.

On the Im per ia l co inages of Br i t ish In dia , i t ha d become c ustom ary to ma ke changes in th e

design of some deno mi natio ns a t th e beg inning of a new reign. In 1937 Mr. Spencer com men ced

work upon new or modified reverse designs for the entire series and as a guide for the silver

denominations he used as his model the original design.

This was the pattern rupee of 1910, the reverse of which was engraved by F. K. Wezel from

a design and model prepared by Mr. P. Brown, Principal of the School of Art,

Calcutta (Fig. 10).

S I L V E R — R E V E R S E D E S IG N S .

FIG. 11. Rupee 1938. FIG. 12. J Rupee 1938. .FIG. 13. | Rupee 1938.

For the three silver denominations of Rupee, J rupee and J rupee, only slight changes were

made. On all values the available space in the central circular table was increased by the

rem ova l of th e inner circle from th e double line circle which separa tes the outer sarace nic scroll

work dec oration fro m th e tex t on the issues of George V. New form s of letters a nd f igures were

used and respaced to take a dva nta ge of the larger area . This produced a m ore balanced ef fect

and im par te d a d is t inct ive modern s ty le . (Figs . 11 ,12 an d 13 .


7/17

N O T E S O N C O L O N I A L C O I N S 1 64

N I C K E L - R E V E R S E D E S I G N S

FIG. 14. 2

Anna

1939. FIG. 15. 1

Anna

1938.

The two nickel denominat ions , 2 and 1 Ann a, underw ent mo re marked changes.

2

A N N A S .

As already noted, Mr. Spencer completely re-designed this coin in 1937 and, when the

specimens were prepared for approval in 1939, only sl ight changes were made to one of the

original pattern designs (see Figs. 8, 9, and 14).

1 A N N A .

On the 1 An na, which had re ma ined un cha nge d in i ts reverse design since i t f irst a ppe ared

as a pa t te rn in 1905 (see Fig. 6) , the change consisted of new form s of let ter s and num erals in

the cent ra l panel . The decora t ive f rame and the na t ive text s remained unal te red . A more

balanced arrangement was achieved and, as on the si lver coins, a dist inct ive modern style

resul ted. This , combined with the bet ter method of cut t ing the scal loped blanks introduced in

1933, presented a considerably improved and pleasing coin (Fig. 15) .

B R O N Z E - R E V E R S E D E SI G N S .

FIG

. 16. {-

Anna

1938.

FIG

. 17.

I Pice

1938.

FIG

. 18. 1/12

Anna

1938.

The a l te ra t ions to the three bronze coins—\ Anna, \ Pice and l /12th Anna fol lowed the

same form as those introduced in the si lver coins. The f igures and let ters in the central panel

were of the new style an d by care ful respacing the he avy thic k app eara nce of th e V ictorian

design was modernized. No change was made to the encircl ing decorat ive f loral borders.

(Figs. 16, 17 and 18).


8/17


O B V E R S E 1 9 3 8 / 3 9 C O IN A G ES . Type I—H igh Relief Effigy.

165

FIG. 19.

First or High Relief E ffigy.

For t he obv erse of all den om inatio ns th e eff igy of Kin g George VI w as obtained fr om th e

3 inch intermediate reduction punch supplied by the Royal Mint in 1937.

This effigy ha s a som ewh at excessive relief which was too grea t for norm al coinage work bu t

offered no diff iculty in the str ik ing of specimen coins. Specimens of the v arious deno min ation s

were forwarded to England for submission to His Majesty and were approved as follows:—

Silver Ru pee , § Rup ee and J Ru pee

Nickel

Anna

Bronze

J Ann a

Bronze

§ Pice an d 1/12 A nn a,

Nickel

2 An na sen t in Fe bru ary

1939 and approved

Under a Government of Ind ia Finance Depar tment Notif icat ion No. D-7340 F dated

29th October, 1938, i t was ordered that all coins struck in the Indian Mints on and after the

1st Nove mb er, 1938, would bea r th e eff igy of Ki ng George VI. No coins bearing the eff igy of

King George V were struck after the 31st October, 1938.

All the coins struck for circulation in 1938 and the greater portion in 1939 have for the

obverse the Type I or high relief effigy.

Un til a new mode l could be supplied Mr. Spencer pre-

par ed the new dies in lower relief from th e original model. In doing so details of the

effigy

such

as the hair , disappeared and they had to be cut by hand, but working dies were produced and

production commenced. (Fig. 19).

Type II—Low Relief Effigy.

FIG. 20. Second or Low Relief Effigy.

J J u ly , 1938

N o v e m b e r 1938

April 1939


9/17

166


A new model of the King's crowned eif igy was supplied by the Royal Mint ear ly in 1939, but

the work of producing mat r ices and punches f rom i t could not commence unt i l Mr . Spencer

re turned f rom leave in Augus t . Most of the work was comple ted by the end of the year and

smal l quant i t i es of some denominat ions were s t ruck wi th the year da te 1939 f rom the new

obverse dies (Fig. 20).

1 9 3 8 P A T T E R N J A N N A .

FIG. 21. Pattern J Anna 1938 {nickel).

Another interest ing coin designed by Mr. Spencer is a J Anna dated 1938. (Fig. 21) . This

value had been last minted for circulat ion in the reign of Queen Victoria in copper . I t was a

cumbersome coin and i ts mint ing for general use ceased in 1877. When the cupro-nickel Anna

was introduced into circulat ion in 1907 i t was also the intent ion of the Government to include

An na de nom inat ion s t ruck in the same me ta l and of a s imi lar shape .

FIG

. 22.

Pattern \ Anna

1908

nickel).

After consul tat ion with local governments i t was decided to defer the introduct ion of this

va lue unt i l the popula t ion had become thoroughly accus tomed to the new nickel Anna, but a

pat tern | Anna of 1908 shows the intended design (Fig. 22) .

Subsequent events caused the mat te r to be she lved indef in i te ly , but in the prepara t ion of

models for the new coinage of George VI in 1938 a nickel J Anna denominat ion was mooted.

Mr . Spencer prep ared a mo del and dies were cut for a pa t t e rn J An na.

This is a most interest ing piece, as i t was model led by the ar t is t af ter a s tudy of two earl ier

pat tern coins. The f i rs t was the Calcut ta scal loped nickel pat tern \ Anna of 1908 (see Fig. 22)

f rom which an adapt ion of the cent ra l des ign was made by the ar t i s t , and the second pa t te rn

coin was th e Calcu t ta 1 Ann a of 1921, hav ing a lozenge shape (see Fig. 1) .

By a judicious combinat ion of the design and shape of these two earl ier pat terns, a most

pleasing style was achieved. Like the 2 Anna pat terns of 1937, the head punch of George VI

had not been prepared by the mint and Mr . Spencer used a George V head punch for th i s

J Anna, c rea t ing ye t another unusual mule pa t te rn .

The \ Anna did not material ize immediately and i t was not unt i l 1940, under the pressure

of excessive war t ime demand for small coin, that the Government decided to restore the

| Anna denominat ion to circulat ion.


10/17


FIG. 23. Specimen \ Anna, 1940 FIG. 24. Currency issue \ Anna, 1942

cupro-nickel) nickel-brass)

In 1940 Mr. Spencer redesigned the reverse of the 1938 pat tern by al tering the encircl ing

frame and adding the nat ive texts , and specimen coins s t ruck in cupro-nickel bearing the date

1940 were approved (Fig. 23).

The f i rs t issues of th is deno min at ion fo r general ci rculat ion were s t ruck at the B om bay Mint

in nickel brass an d were released in Ja nu ar y 1942 (Fig . 24).

1 9 4 0 Q U A R T E R N A R Y S T A N D A R D S I L V E R C O I N S .

F I G . 2 5 .

Qua ternary silver coins

O B V E R S E .

F I G . 2 6 .

Rupee

R E V E R S E F I G . 2 7 .

\ Rupee

R E V E R S E F I G 2 8 .

Rupee

R E V E R S E

Lahore Mint,

1944

Calcutta Mint,

1943

Bombay Mint,

1943

In 1939-1940 experiments were carried out at the Calcut ta Mint with the use of quarternary

silver alloy, th e objec t being to intro duc e an expe rim ent al coinage of \ an d -J rup ees in th a t

composi t ion.

On the 11th March, 1940, the Indian Coinage Act 1906 was modified when, in view of the

increase of the price of silver and the need to conserve silver resources, the government decided

to adopt the fineness of one half silver and one half alloy for the silver coins.

All three s i lver denominat ions were s t ruck in the new standard in 1940 but incorporated in

the new rupee isuecl in that year was a new security edge. This device, consisting of a shallow


11/17

1 68 NO TE S ON C OL ON I AL C OI NS 1 68

re-entrant in the centre of the grained edge, was considered to be a vir tual ly absolute safeguard

agains t counter fe i t ing .

I n

1941

the ha l f rupee des ign was a l te red to make i t conform to the rupee and on July

15,

1943, orders were issued th a t th e qu ar ter rup ee should have the sam e secur i ty edge .

These changes in metal content and the adoption of the securi ty edge involved some modi-

f ica t ion to the exis t ing designs and Mr . Spencer had to und er ta ke th e prepa ra t ion of new dies

for a ll three denom inat ions .

Obverse

Th e princip al chan ge on the obve rses consisted of an enlarg em ent of th e r im

decora t ion and a s l ight ly wider margin . The le t t e rs of the King 's name and t i t l e were of the

sam e style as those of 1938 bu t som ewh at thick er (Fig. 25) .

Reverses

All three denomina t ions und erwe nt grea ter a l t e ra t ions on the reverse . Like the

obverses , an enlargement of the decora t ive r im and margin was deemed necessary to counter

the pressures involved in the securi ty edge marking. This resul ted in less space being avai lable

for the saracenic scrol l with i ts conventional representat ions of the rose, shamrock, thist le and

lotus which encircled the central f ield.

On al l denominat ions Mr. Spencer re-designed the outer decorat ive scrol l work and thicker

let ters and numerals were used in the centre circle. These modif icat ions appeared as each

denominat ion came into product ion with the securi ty edge (Figs. 26, 27 and 28) .

1 9 4 1 . P A T T E R N S F O R A D O L L A R C O I N .

FIG

. 30.

Dollar Pattern Obverse Fig.

29.

FIG

. 31.

Dollar Pattern

ls f

Variety Znd Variety

Of more th an u nusu al in teres t a re two pa t te rn s prepared in 1941 for a Dol lar denom inat ion.

Up to the present the only publ i shed de ta i l s re la t ing to these pa t te rns i s a br ie f note upon

one var ie ty b y Mr . How ard L inecar in the

Num ismatic Circular

June, 1956, page 264, and a

subsequent record in his book on Commonwealth Coinage, 1959.* Neither account is qui te

cor rec t , due to the inference tha t these do l la r pa t te rns were to serve as an in t ro duc tory piece

for a decimal system in India.

The in t roduct ion of a Decimal Sys tem was f i r s t sugges ted to the Government of India by

the Calcut ta Mint Master , Major D. V. Deane, in 1945. In February 1946 a bi l l was introduced

* Since th i s was wr i t t en an a r t i c l e upon the pa t t e rn do l l a rs has appeared in the Numismatic Circular, M a y ,

1 9 6 8 .


12/17


169

in the Centra l Legis la t ive Assembly which had the purpose of introducing a decimal coinage

sys tem based upo n a Ru pee of 100 cents . Du e to for thcoming changes in the pol i t ica l s i tuat ion ,

this was not brought into being dur ing the Br i t ish Adminis t ra t ion.

The Dollar pa t te rn s or iginated f rom a cause ent i re ly divorced f rom any considerat ion of a

decimal sys tem.

From 1939 unt i l the end of 1941 when Ja pa n entered th e war the Indian econom y was not

ser ious ly af fected. The requ ireme nt for coin was well within the capaci ty of the In dia n min ts ,

bu t dem and s for foreign coinages broug ht increas ing pressure both in me tal s tocks and mach ine

capaci ty.

In England the great pressure of work on the Royal Mint and the insecur i ty of sea com-

mu nicat ion s f ro m Eng land t o Afr ica , Arab ia and th e Ea s t resul ted in a num ber of foreign and

colonial coinage orders being passed over to the Ind ian m ints for execut ion— namely, those of

Ceylon, Ea s t Afr ica , Eg yp t , I ra q, Ma laya, Muscat and Oman, Saudi Arabia and the M ar ia

Theresa Thaler . To this was added demands f rom several Nat ive Indian Sta tes , and the

decision in March 1940 to adopt the 500 f ine standard for the Indian silver coins.

As thi s pressure increased a nd m eta l supplies grad uall y becam e more diff icult to obtain ( the

American silver loans did not materialize until 1943), consideration was given to the problem

of economies in domestic coin production, so as to leave more capacity free for foreign orders

and a lso reduce the amount of metals required for this purpose.

I t was in the l ight of these problem s th at the propo sal was made to in troduce a 2 J rupee coin

which was provisionally called a Dollar , the term Dollar having no meaning relative to any

dec imal s tandard .

The advantages of a 2- ,- rupee coin were twofo ld:—

(а) a considerable saving of m eta l would be affected , as each Dollar would replace two One

Rupee coins and one Half Rupee, which together had a combined weight of 450 t roy

grains against a proposed weight of 225 grains for th e single 2} rupee, an d

(б) th e produ ct ive capaci ty se t f ree for other purposes—in th e Stam ping De par tm en t

alone, one coining press engaged upon a 2} rupee coin would produce the same total

value as three presses s tr iking rupees an d the h alf rupee.

The project reached the s tage where pat tern coins were prepared for submiss ion and app-

prov al by the M inis ter of F inan ce, with the inten t ion of introducing an am end me nt to t he

Coinage Act to enable the coins to be made legal tender . Before this could be done Japan

entered the War . The s i tuat ion changed a lmost immediate ly and the proposal had to be

a ba ndone d .

The Calcutta Mint Administrative Report for the year 1940-41 ( i .e. 1st April 1940 to

31st March 1941) mentions the fact that exper imental matr ices , punches and dies for a

proposed Indian Dollar were prepared in the Engraving Depar tment of the Mint , but fa i ls to

re la te the reason for their preparat ion.

As far as can be remem bered to da y the prepa ratory work on these pat tern s commenced e i ther

lat e in Dece mb er 1940 or in th e early par t of 1941. As the y are me ntion ed in th e A dm inist rativ e

Re po r t for the ye ar 1940-41 this is very p robab ly cor rect . Bo th pat tern s were des igned by

Mr. Spencer .

The obverse of both pat terns is f rom the same die . I t was prepared f rom the second or low

relief mo del of th e crown ed eff igy of Kin g George VI and shows the norm al Ind ian ti t le.

(Fig. 29) . The reverses were cut by hand and the letters and numerals are executed in the

same style as the redesigned coinage of 1938. (Figs. 30 and 31).


13/17

170

NO TES ON COL ONIAL COINS 170

1 9 4 3 P I C E .

FIG. 32. 1 Pice 1943—Currency Issue.

Due to a genera l scarc i ty of minor coins caused by the heavy demands of the War

( 1 9 3 9 -

1945) bronze coins s tar ted to disappear from circulat ion and were hoarded against a possibi l i ty

of the black market value of their metal l ic content r is ing above their face value. To protect

further issues of bronze coins against such pract ices the Government authorized the issue of

a new quar ter Anna denominat ion in 1943. The design of this coin was a complete change for

India. I t was smaller in s ize than the old pice and had a central ci rcular hole. The value was

s imply 1 PICE and except for an Imper ia l Crown in the des ign no reference i s made to the

reigning sovereign. Fig.

32).

1 9 4 3 . P A T T E R N P I C E .

FIG. 33.

Pattern One Pice

1943—

Calcutta Mint.

Included in the Spencer col lect ion is a pat tern Pice with the date 1943 which shows a

considerable variat ion from the design eventual ly approved for circulat ion. I t was designed by

Mr. Spencer in 1942.

On the obverse the Im per ia l c rown occurs a t the top dividing the d a te 1943 w i t h O N E P IC E

IN D IA around th e cent ra l hole . The reverse has a wre a th jo ined a t the bo t tom wi th an Imp er ia l

crown. At the top an d the two s ides the wr ea th p a t t e r n i s broken by r ibbon t i es which are th e

same th ickness as the wrea th . This r ibbon decora t ion and the crown divide the wrea th in to

fou r pa rts an d each pa rt is inscribed in very sm all incuse let ters Avith th e valu e in fou r diffe rent

na t iv e scr ip t s— Urdu, Nag ar i , Bengalee and Telegu Fig .

33).

I t

Avill

be seen by a comparison

Avith

the currency issue that the design f inal ly approved for

circulat ion Avas a rear ran ge me nt of the obverse of this p at te rn an d th e use of only tAvo nat iv e

scripts . Th e reverse was simply a cont inuou s decorat ive leaf design see Fig.

32).

1 9 4 6 - 1 9 4 7 P U R E N I C K E L C OIN AG E.

Owing to the inadequate supply of s i lver in the open market , the prevai l ing high price of

the metal in India and the obl igat ion of the Government to return in kind, within a period of


14/17


171

5 years af ter the end of the War, the 226 million ounces of silver borrowed from the United

States of America between 1943-1945, the decision was made to abandon the use of silver as

a coinage metal.

On the 23rd May, 1946, the government suspended the minting of silver coins and

authorized the minting of the £ and \ rupee denomination in pure nickel. By a later Act of the

18th April , 1947, the Indian Coinage Act was amended to authorize the government to issue

all coins, including the rupee, in any metal. Under this authority a Notif ication, No. F. 2 13)—

F . 1/47 i), was issued on the 24t h M ay, 1947, which ordered th e min ting of the R upe e in pure

nickel.

For these completely new coins of the higher denominations the old conventional decorative

Saracenic scroll designs and plain statements of value gave way to a representation of an

Indian t iger .

Although Mr. Spencer had re t i red and lef t Ind ia by the t ime these changes came about he

was nevertheless involved in the preliminary work in the selection of their design. Included in

his collection was a pattern rupee the dies for which were originally engraved in 1901 by his

predecessor in off ice—F. K . Wezel. The central design of this pat ter n b ears a rep resen tatio n

of an Ind ia n tiger Fig. 34).

FIG . 34. Pattern Rupee 1901—Ca lcutta — (F. K. Wezel).

The design f inally approved for the new pure nickel coins showing the Indian tiger was

modelled by Mr. P . W . M. Br indley f rom the an im al which appeared on the Wezel pa t t er n and

although not the actual work of Mr. Spencer he contr ibuted in no small degree to the adoption

of this design for the last British Indian coinage.

O T H E R W O R K S O E M R . S P E N C E R .

Mention has been made that in his younger days, while employed by Messrs. Pinches,

Mr. Spencer engraved dies for coins of certain South American states. During his appointment

in India he was also responsible for designing and engraving dies for coins struck at the

Calcu t ta Mint for o ther governments .

A notable example, and unquestionably his f inest work in relation to coins, was the 1928

B hu ta n | R upe e silver coinage. The obverse of this coin bearing th e effigy of His Highness the

M aha raja J igme W angc huk 1926-1952) was en t i re ly the work of the engraver and the i l lus tra-

tion from the lead mod el Fig. 35) shows to adv ant age the detailed work involved.

The reverse with its religious symbols was engraved by Mr. Spencer from drawings supplied

to the Mint by the Bhutan Durbar and curiously these had a slight error in the inscription

which was corrected in the following year .


15/17

172


FIG. 35. Lead model of the obverse of the Bhutan \ Rupee.

M E D A L S .

FIG. 36. Artist s signa ture in mono gram.

FIG. 37. Award medal Bombay Agricultural Show 1926.


16/17

NOT E S ON COL ONIAL COINS

173

A large number of Medals were engraved by Mr. Spencer dur ing h is l i fe t ime but unfor tun-

ate ly he kept no record of h is work , and towards the las t year o f h is l i fe h is memory was no t

equal to the task of p repar ing such a l i s t .

However , the fo l lowing medals have been noted by the wri ter and were des igned and en-

graved by the ar t i s t . The i l lus t ra t ions are represen tat ive of h is h igh s tandard of sk i l l and

craf t smanship and exhib i t a complete mastery in thei r several s ty les of the ar t o f engrav ing . A

number of the medals are signed with the ini t ials—

APS

in mo nog ram . Fig. 36).

1. Obv.

An Ind ian Ry o t on a p l a t fo rm winnowing g ra in .

Rev.

B O M B A Y P R E S I D E N C Y A G R I C U L TU R A L S H O W

1 9 2 6

In ce n t re na t iv e scr ip t F ig . 37).

2 .

Obv.

Bus t i n t he Ro m an s ty l e t o l e f t .

S I R W I L L I A M J O N E S

1746-1794

F O U N D E R O E T H E A S I A T I C S S O C I E T Y .

Rev.

A lau rel br an ch on th e lef t of th e f ield.

FIG. 38. Botany Research Aivard.

A bespectacled bust to r igh t .

P A U L - J O H A N N E S -B R U H L - M E M O R I A L - M E D A L .

Similar to No. 5 but also inscribed.

A W A R D E D T O F O R A S I A T IC R E S E A R C H E S I N B O T A N Y .

A pel ican to r igh t .

J O Y - G O B I N D - L A W M E M O R I A L M E D A L .

A W A R D E D T O F O R A S I A T I C R E S E A R C H E S I N Z O O L OG Y .

A rep resen ta t ion o f Jesus and Mary wi th Ind ian f ea tu res . .

• C O N V E N T S O F J E S U S A N D M A R Y -

P A R E L • B Y C U L L A - P O O N A .

A G N E S - A N N - 1 A R M S T RO N G -1 - M E M O R I A L - M E D A L - 1 . .. . . .

F O R - G O O D - C O N D UC T - A W A R D E D T O

3.

Obv.

Rev.

4.

Obv.

Rev.

5. Obv.

Rev.


17/17

FIG. 39.

Good Conduct M edal.


6. Obv. Bu s t to r igh t .

W . H . P I C K E R I N G .

Rev.

M I N I N G - A N D - G E O L O G I C A E - I N S T I T U T E O E I N D I A .

Aw arde d to Session I . S . M .

7. Obv. Bus t to le f t .

S IR H E N R Y H A Y D E N .

Rev.

As N o. 2.

FIG. 40. Kamala Medal.

8.

Obv.

Facing bust of K am ala , wife of Presi dent N ehru .

K A M A L A M E D A L across the flan. Ar ou nd :

F O U N D E D - B Y S I R A S U T O S H M O O K E R J E E .

Rev.

W ithin a beade d circ le the Ro ya l Arm s encircled by the inscription.

- ( -U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A L C U T T A + T H E A D V A N C E M E N T O F L E A R N I N G .

Above , on a pane l : A W A R D E D T O .

An open wreath encloses the entire design.

Notes on Colonial Coins 1968 Bnj 37 19

Documents

Transcript of Notes on Colonial Coins 1968 Bnj 37 19