1/2 Chitra Rupee - Chithira Thirunal Bala Rama Varma II

Travancore maintained its own coinage well into the twentieth century as one of the largest and most administratively autonomous princely states under the British Paramountcy. Chithira Thirunal's reign saw the kingdom navigate the political turbulence of the independence movement while preserving its distinct monetary identity — the Travancore rupee was legal tender within the state's borders independent of British Indian currency. The half-rupee silver issues of this period were struck at the Trivandrum Mint, one of the very few princely state mints still operating in India during the 1940s.

The .500 fine silver specification reflects a wartime reduction in purity, consistent with metal conservation pressures across South Asian mints during the Second World War.