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1 Pagoda
| Issuer | Madras Presidency |
|---|---|
| Year | 1808-1815 |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 17.4 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays a stylised figure of Vishnu (Balaji) standing facing, depicted in a devotional South Indian iconographic style within an ornate oval cartouche surrounded by a beaded inner circle. The deity is flanked by attendant symbols and crescent motifs at the base. A five-pointed star appears above the central figure at the apex of the cartouche, surmounted by two curved pennant-like ornaments. Tamil and Telugu legends are arranged around the periphery in four quadrants, reading 'புகழ் / பగొడ' (meaning 'glory / pagoda'), with the entire design enclosed by an outer beaded border. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Grained |
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| Additional information |
The Madras Pagoda predates British India's currency unification by decades — the East India Company continued striking it well into the nineteenth century largely because local merchants and temple economies in South India refused to accept Company rupees at par. The pagoda had circulated in the Carnatic for over two centuries before this issue and carried a trust that no administrative decree could quickly replace.
The series was formally demonetized following the currency reforms that consolidated Company territories onto a rupee standard, ending a gold coinage tradition that stretched back to Vijayanagara.