The 1942 rupee marks the last silver issue before India's wartime silver shortage forced a switch to nickel the following year. Demand for silver in military and industrial applications — particularly for American lend-lease electrical contacts — stripped colonial mints of their traditional alloy supplies. Calcutta and Bombay were both striking at capacity through this period, and the "Embossed" security edge feature had been introduced specifically to combat the widespread shaving and clipping that plagued the subcontinent's circulation coinage.
KM#557.1 distinguishes the Bombay mint output by dot placement in the legend.
The 1942 rupee marks the last silver issue before India's wartime silver shortage forced a switch to nickel the following year. Demand for silver in military and industrial applications — particularly for American lend-lease electrical contacts — stripped colonial mints of their traditional alloy supplies. Calcutta and Bombay were both striking at capacity through this period, and the "Embossed" security edge feature had been introduced specifically to combat the widespread shaving and clipping that plagued the subcontinent's circulation coinage.
KM#557.1 distinguishes the Bombay mint output by dot placement in the legend.