The Bombay Presidency's tin coinage occupied an awkward position in local commerce — the metal was cheap, the coins heavy, and their acceptance was never guaranteed outside Company-controlled markets. Tin corrodes aggressively in humid coastal conditions, which is precisely the climate of Bombay, and survivors in any meaningful state of preservation are genuinely scarce as a result.
The Bombay Presidency's tin coinage occupied an awkward position in local commerce — the metal was cheap, the coins heavy, and their acceptance was never guaranteed outside Company-controlled markets. Tin corrodes aggressively in humid coastal conditions, which is precisely the climate of Bombay, and survivors in any meaningful state of preservation are genuinely scarce as a result.