1 Rupee - George VI

The shift to .500 fine silver in 1940 — down from the .917 standard used through much of the nineteenth century — reflected wartime metal economics rather than any monetary reform. Britain needed silver reserves, and the Indian currency was an obvious place to find them. Coins struck in 1940 and after are compositionally distinct from the 1939 issue, though the two are visually indistinguishable without assay.

The Lahore mint struck alongside Bombay and Calcutta during this run, an unusual three-mint production driven entirely by wartime demand for coinage across the subcontinent.