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1/2 Rupee - Victoria
| Issuer | East India Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1840 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rupee (1770-1947) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central design features the denomination inscribed in English and Persian (Nastaliq) script within a floral wreath tied with a ribbon bow at the base. The English legend EAST INDIA COMPANY and the date 1840 arc around the periphery outside the wreath, with the Arabic numeral value هشت آن (Eight Annas, equivalent to Half Rupee) inscribed in Urdu within the wreath below the English denomination. A toothed border frames the entire reverse. |
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| Additional information |
The 1840 half rupee sits at a peculiar administrative crossroads: it was struck in the name of Victoria, yet the East India Company — a commercial entity, not the Crown — remained the legal issuing authority. Parliament had stripped the Company of its trade monopoly in 1833 but left it governing the subcontinent. The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 would finally end that arrangement, transferring India directly to the Crown, but this coin predates that reckoning by nearly two decades.
Both Calcutta and the Soho Mint in Birmingham produced 1840 issues, and the two are distinguished by subtle differences in die preparation traceable to their respective engravers.