1 Rupee

The 1950 rupee marked the first coinage issued by the Republic of India following independence — the lion capital of Sarnath replacing the British monarch's portrait for the first time in over two centuries of colonial minting. Nickel was chosen partly because India's own reserves were adequate and partly to distance the coinage from the silver rupee tradition that the British had maintained.

The series ran only through 1954 before the composition and design program was revisited. Calcutta and Bombay mint pieces from this window can be distinguished by their mint marks.