Catalog
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| Issuer | East India Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1820-1821 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 6.8 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse bears a bold Devanagari inscription in the central field reading 'पैसा' (Paisa), denoting the coin's denomination. The numerals of the regnal year appear below the inscription in Devanagari script. The legend is rendered in a robust, archaic style characteristic of early Company issues struck at Bankot Mint. A plain raised rim encircles the design on an irregular flan. The overall composition is simple and functional, consistent with utilitarian copper coinage of the Bombay Presidency. |
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| Additional information |
The East India Company's Soho Mint-produced pice of this period emerged directly from a broader currency reform effort aimed at rationalizing the chaotic patchwork of local coinages circulating across Bengal. Matthew Boulton's steam-powered presses had already transformed British coinage; the Company leveraged the same technology and contracted output to bring a degree of mechanical uniformity to Indian subsidiary coinage that hand-struck local issues could never achieve.
Pridmore's two separate listings for this type reflect documented die variations between the 1820 and 1821 issues.