Discussion: Indian Definitive Changing Designs

[Figleaf]

There are no rare Indian post-independence coins, apart from some patterns you cannot afford. On eBay, just about every coin is rare and every fantasy and fake is a pattern, but that is nonsense. The vast majority of Indian post-independence coins are common and that is good and normal.

To know about relative scarcity, just buy a catalogue and compare catalogue quotes, but this will tell you nothing about coin collecting. Rather, use that same catalogue to get some insight in Indian numismatics. Park the commemoratives for a moment and organise the rest in series. If you wish, make an Excel sheet by denomination and series. Now, you can spot the odd ones and you can track inflation (what happened to the 1 paise? And the 50 paise?)

You can also equilibrate your collection. Calculate the percentage of coins you have in each series and denomination. Now you can decide which coins to hunt for. Give yourself brownie points for each 100%, but don't expect to be "complete" any time soon.

Now turn to those commemoratives. There is a list on the site and you can find excellent background information here. With the internet, it should be possible to find at least one illustration for every commemorative you buy. On the way, you will notice that some commemorative subjects are more important than others. If you continue on this road, you will get into politics, so be warned. However, coins are propaganda and it is interesting to look beyond the coin to what motivated them.

Price means nothing. All it does is separate the coins you can afford from those you cannot afford. For the moment.

Have fun, not price anxiety.

Peter

This post added from another thread to illustrate a use of an analysis in series.

[dheer]

Over the Period of 60 plus years the Indian Definitive coinage has undergone atleast 8-9 Major design changes with few minor design changes.

Frozen Series – I
From 1947 to 1950, the older coins of pre-independence were still valid. This represented the currency arrangements during the transition period up to the establishment of the Indian Republic. The Monetary System remained unchanged at One Rupee consisting of 192 pies.
•   1 Rupee = 16 Annas
•   1 Anna = 4 Pice
•   1 Pice = 3 Pies

1950 Anna Series – II
This series was introduced on 15th August, 1950 and represented the first coinage of Republic India. The King's Portrait was replaced by the Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar. A corn sheaf replaced the Tiger on the one Rupee coin. In some ways this symbolized a shift in focus to progress and prosperity. Indian motifs were incorporated on other coins. The monetary system was largely retained unchanged with one Rupee consisting of 16 Annas.


1957 - The Decimal Series – III
World over there was a move to adopt a decimal system for currency to facilitate easy accounting. The Indian Coinage Act in Sept 1955 was amended for the country to adopt a metric system for coinage. The Act came into force with effect from 1st April, 1957. The rupee remained unchanged in value and nomenclature. It, however, was now divided into 100 'Paisa' instead of 16 Annas or 64 Pice. For public recognition, the new decimal Paisa was termed 'Naya Paisa'.


1964 Revised Decimal Series – IV
On 1st June, 1964 when the term 'Naya' was dropped from the denominations. All the key design remained as earlier.
There was no change in the One Rupee coin. However the One Rupee was not minted again till 1970 and it was only from 1975 when it was minted regularly and in large quantities.

1964 Onwards Aluminum Series – V
Barley after the word 'Naya' was dropped from the coinage, there was already another initiative going on to reduce the cost of the coins. Most of the coins in smaller denominations made of bronze, nickel-brass, cupro-nickel were gradually converted to Aluminum. This change commenced with the introduction of the new hexagonal 3 paise coin in the year 1964 and over the period One paise, Two paise, 5 Paise, 10 Paise were converted. A twenty paise coin was introduced in 1968 in Nickel Brass and was changed to Aluminum from 1982. There were lots of metal changes on other denominations as well.
Overall this was a very active period with quite a bit of changes in coinage.


1990's Stainless Steel Series – VI
The inflation made the coins in lower denomination redundant. The rising cost of metal also meant that most of the Aluminum coins were melted for the metal. Thus over a period of time most of the lower denomination coins were discontinued.
Viz The Three Paise was discontinued in 1971, The One Paise in 1972, the Two Paise in 1979. The 5 paise was stopped in 1994. The 20 paise also was discontinued in the year 1994. Although the minting of these coins was stopped the de-monetization these coins was only done on 30-June-2011 along with 25 paise.


2004 Unity In Diversity Series – VII
For the first time in Indian Coinage History, the design of the definitive coins was given outside mint to NID [National Institute of Design] in Ahmadabad.
The Unity and Diversity was selected, and this was adopted over a period for Rs 1 in 2004 followed by Rs 2 in 2005 and Rs 5 in 2007. A coin of Rs 10 denomination was also introduced. It was minted from 2005 however put into circulation only in the later part of 2009. Although a 50 paise coin was designed, it was never minted.


2008 Natya Mudra , IT & Connectivity Series – VIII
Not withstanding the controversy over the design of the Unity and Diversity series, the Natya Mudra design was adopted for coins of 50 paise, Rs 1, Rs 2 and the IT & Connectivity for Rs 5 and Rs 10.
The Natya Mudra Series had various Hand Gestures [Hasta Mudra] from the Classical Dance form 'Bharat Natyam' on the Reverse of the coins.
The IT & Connectivity had 2 themes, one that was a wave like pattern that depicted the fluid movement of the data and information and the other had radiating lines outside that indicated growth and connectivity


2011 New Floral Design with Rupee Symbol Series – IX
The adoption of the Rupee Symbol for the Indian currency led to redesign of all coins [currencies as well]. As part of this effort, the size of coins was also reduced to make it more cost effective. The metal of Rs 5 coin was changed from Steel to Nickel Brass.


For Images, refer the blog post at P1 & P2

[aarkay]

Hi....

Formerly the Indian coins had a definitive shape not only to enhance its aesthetic appeal but also to help in easy identification of the value specially for the less educated and visually impaired....this was evident in the Frozen Series – I.... 1950 Anna Series – II..... 1957 - The Decimal Series – III.....1964 Revised Decimal Series – IV....1964 Onwards Aluminum Series – V

(see @dheer P1).....

http://coinsofrepublicindia.blogspot.in/2013/01/journey-through-indian-definitive.html)

...but since the 1990's Stainless Steel Series – VI  onwards the coins of all denominations were made circular  with different diameters thus making it a little difficult to identify for the less educated and visually impaired

(see @dheer P2)

http://coinsofrepublicindia.blogspot.in/2013/01/journey-through-indian-definitive_12.html

...... no doubt indentation of the value on the face of coin may be helpful when the coin is new....but as this indentation becomes less
pronounced on the circulated coins due wear and tare as time goes by, the identification becomes a problem for the above mentioned.....

....the Mint it appears to have become inattentive of these facts due sheer negligence ...... after all these days when have the powers that be concerned for the general public and their problems...


Aarkay

[dheer]

@Figleaf ...
Very nice post in terms of getting the basics right on what to collect and how to go about it ...

@aarkay
I agree with you, there was the newspaper guy where I would buy paper every day [at Rs 2.50] and at time there was also a blind man ... the 50 paise change was always a problem ... on few occasion i would see the blind man giving Rs 5 coin to the newspaper guy as 50 paise ...
so i guess with so much changes in size and shapes, its tough for some to recognize coins ...

[beekar]

2004 Unity In Diversity Series – VII
For the first time in Indian Coinage History, the design of the definitive coins was given outside mint to NID [National Institute of Design] in Ahmadabad.
The Unity and Diversity was selected, and this was adopted over a period for Rs 1 in 2004 followed by Rs 2 in 2005 and Rs 5 in 2006. A coin of Rs 10 denomination was also introduced. It was minted from 2005 however put into circulation only in the later part of 2009. Although a 50 paise coin was designed, it was never minted.

Was any 5 rs coin minted in 2006?

[Coinsforever]

Due to highly commercialization of this hobby  over a decade  and artificial demand RI coins are hot in market.

Mints,  dealers ,ebay has been adapting all sort of marketing tools to flourish their businesses . 

Availability of Numismatics  books , opening of coins clubs , societies and too much coins shows/exhibitions are trend of this hobby now a days.

Directly or indirectly such changes are influencing  policies of RBI/Mints  pertaining to  issue more number of coins per year , impose  VAT , taxes , Service charges etc.

Fakes/forgery and melting are other areas ,undoubtedly RI coinage are quite simple & easy to fake .

Due to no regulation and control of prices  , quite a big mis -match  one can see , same year  coins are being offered at  different prices .

Unfortunately  this  hobby is  of no more fun & pleasure  but mere  show off competition .

Very few researchers  , very few experts & serious collectors left who are dedicating their life to promote . On the other hand shortage of libraries , lack of Numismatics seminars /lectures are  required  to be replenished to keep this hobby alive in true sense.


Cheers

[aarkay]

Unfortunately  this  hobby is  of no more fun & pleasure  but mere  show off competition .

Hi...

Absolutely true....as is with any hobbies (like in the King of hobbies and hobby of Kings, Philately) the field of numismatics has become too commercialized.... the thrill and the pleasure of collecting coins has been lost...much like the present day the bang-bang version of cricket which has replaced the joy of the watching the poetry of Test Cricket, a gentleman's game...

Aarkay

[aarkay]

Hi...

@paisepagal....yes, this forum should ideally be a place for the interaction of views /opinions/suggestions of the experienced with the others to the betterment of numismatics.... a pure hobby for pleasure and enjoyment....where the pleasure is  not equated in terms of the market value and one-upmanship...

The main reason for this hobby slipping into the doldrums, I feel, is due to lack of interest among the younger generation... providing quality time to this hobby is not in their list of priorities ....the generation in the schools which is the sowing ground for this hobby (where most of us picked up this) is least interested ,may be due  to lack of guidance....

Can something be done to revive and reverse this trend?

Is this thread digressing into a different area.... I hope not ...

Aarkay

[The Oracle]

It's quite natural it seems for this forum to slip into the doldrums and bang about the doom and gloom of pretty much everything 

Yes, the numismatic scene has experienced a stark commercial interest... But for every set of hoarders/ investors/ opportunist , there is at least one new genuine collector who has joined in. The fun is lost if that is how you want to see it... I felt like that at one point , so I realigned how I view the hobby and changed my tastes, preferences and habits accordingly. You cannot expect the novelty of when you first started to continue indefinitely.

The info about forgeries, cases of cheating, unscrupulous dealers and people in general is not meant to make you pessimistic and dolorous. Its just meant to make you aware so that you are not fleeced and remain positive

show me the money   

if your tastes have changed and you are no longer interested in indian coins i know of a very good home  ......   

[dheer]

Was any 5 rs coin minted in 2006?

Thanks for pointing out the typo, fixed it. Its only 2007 for the Rs 5.

[dheer]

Aarkay/aan09/paisepagal
Agree with you all ... the hobby is getting more into something else ...

However we still have sites like WOC, Peter's note is very nice, one need not buy coins, even with what we have, we can try and look for a series or a theme or correlate quite a few things ... its amazing the kind of things we can discover, and there is no end to exploring ...

[kumarrahul]

Hi,

The Indian Rupee (coin)  was truly a global standard currency that was used for trade far and wide (Middle East, East Africa and South East Asia).  It remained absolutely stable for over a 100 years with practically no change in metal composition and dimensions (1835 - 1938).  Since then, it has been a downward journey... with rising inflation, the value of the rupee has depreciated over the years.  The same is reflected in changing size, weight and composition of the Rupee coin.  As of Sep 2013, the rupee is worth just a penny (GBP) while at Independence (Aug 1947), it was worth a dollar (USD).

Cheers
Rahul

[@josephjk]

Nice picture kumarrahul, the rupee is indeed shrinking....