Coins of the Indian rupee

Coins of the Indian rupee were first minted in 1950. New coins have been produced annually since then and they make up a valuable aspect of the Indian currency system. Today, circulating coins exist in denominations of 50 p (i.e. 50 paisa or ₹0.50), ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, and ₹10. All of these are produced by four mints located across India, in Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Noida.

History

After the Indian independence, the old British India coins continued to be in use as a frozen currency till 1950, when India became a Republic. The first rupee coins of Republic of India were minted in 1950. Other denomination coins produced were 1/2 rupee, 1/4 rupee, 2 Anna, 1 Anna, 1/2 Anna & 1 Pice coins which are also referred as Anna series or pre-decimal coinage. One rupee was divided into 16 annas or 64 pice, with each anna therefore equal to 4 pice.

In 1957, India shifted to the decimal system, but for a short period both decimal and non-decimal coins were in circulation. To distinguish between the two pice, the coins minted between 1957 and 1964 have the legend "Naya Paisa" ("new" paisa). The denominations in circulation were 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 (naya) paisa and one rupee which remained as the same pre-decimal value. Therefore pre-decimal coins of one, half and quarter rupees could remain in circulation after decimalisation.

The word "naya" was dropped in 1964. In this year a new denomination the 3 paisa was introduced and in 1968 a 20 paisa coin was minted. Both these coins however did not gain much popularity. The 1, 2 and 3 paisa coins were phased out gradually in the 1970s. In 1982 a new coin, 2 rupee, was introduced as an experiment to replace 2 rupee notes. The 2 rupee coin was not minted again till 1990, after which it was minted every year.

Stainless steel coinage of 10, 25 and 50 paisa, was introduced in 1988 and in 1992, a new rupee coin was minted. This coin was smaller and lighter than the older rupee and was also made of stainless steel. In 1992, a 5 rupee Cupronickel coin was introduced. In 2005, 10 rupee coin was minted for the first time. The higher denomination coins were introduced due to increasing demand for change and increasing cost of printing 2, 5 and 10 rupee banknotes.

Effective from 30 June 2011, all coins in denominations of 25 paisa and below were officially demonetised. While other special coins were minted in years in the memory of special events or people and these are referred to as commemorative coins. Commemorative coins can be for collectors and also for circulation. They can be found in various denominations. Some of commemorative coins include coins depicting Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar, Rajiv Gandhi, Dnyaneshwar, 1982–Asian Games, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, Sri Aurobindo, Chittaranjan Das, Chhatrapati Shivaji and logo of 2010-Commonwealth Games, Bhagat singh, Rabindranath Tagore. etc

Coin series: 1947-1950 (pre-decimalization)

Union of India 1947–1950

At Independence on 15 August 1947, India was partitioned into the new British Dominions of India and Pakistan. The new Dominion (or Union) of India retained the previous imperial currency with images of British monarchs. The basic unit of currency was the Indian rupee, which was itself divided into annas (16 annas to a rupee) and pice (the old spelling of paisa - 64 pice to a rupee).^[1] The lowest-denomination Indian coins, the half-pice (128 to a rupee) and the pie (192 to a rupee) were officialldemonetized in 1947; while both denominations had continued to circulate up to that time, new examples were not minted after 1942 as they were practically worthless (India remained a member of the sterling area after independence and the rupee remained pegged to the pound sterling. Until 1966, the rupee was worth 1s.6d, or 18 old British pence; a half-pice was therefore worth 0.141 old pence and a pie 0.09 old pence.)^[2]

From 15 August 1947 until 26 January 1950, the Indian coinage structure was as follows: (bold - denominations minted)^[3]

Rupee and its fractions	Annas	Pice	Pies (demonetized after 1947)
Rupee	16 annas	64 pice	192 pies
Half rupee	8 annas	32 pice	96 pies
Quarter rupee	4 annas	16 pice	48 pies
1/8 rupee	2 annas	8 pice	24 pies
1/16 rupee	1 anna	4 pice	12 pies
1/32 rupee	Half anna	2 pice	6 pies
1/64 rupee	1/4 anna	1 pice	3 pies

This represented the currency arrangements during the transition period up to the establishment of the Indian Republic.

The coins used after 1947 until the introduction of Republic of India - Pre decimalisation series were as follows:

George VI series (Independent India) (1947 - 1950)

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
One Rupee			Nickel	Circular	28 mm	1947
Half Rupee					24 mm	1946 - 1947
Quarter Rupee					19 mm	1946 - 1947
2 Annas			Nickel - Brass	Square	25.1 mm	1945
			Copper - Nickel		22 mm	1946 - 1947
1 Anna			Nickel - Brass	12 Scalloped	21 mm	1945
			Copper - Nickel		21 mm	1946 - 1947
1/2 Anna				Square	19.7 mm	1946 - 1947
1 Pice			Bronze	Circular with a hole	21.32 mm	1943 - 1947

Republic of India 1950-1957

On 26 January 1950, India became a sovereign republic. This series was introduced on 15 August 1950 and represented the first coinage of Republic India. The British 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 symbolised a shift in focus to progress and prosperity. Indian motifs were incorporated on other coins. The previous monetary system and the old units of currency were retained unchanged.

Republic of India Pre-decimalization series (1950 - 1957)

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
One Rupee			Nickel	Circular	27.9 mm	1950 - 1954
Half Rupee					24 mm	1950 - 1956
Quarter Rupee					19 mm	1950 - 1956
Two Annas			Cupro-Nickel	Square	25.4 mm	1950 - 1955
One Anna				12 Scalloped	21 mm	1950 - 1955
Half Anna				Square	19.5 mm	1950 - 1955
One Pice			Bronze	Circular	21 mm	1950 - 1955

Decimalization

The move towards decimalization was afoot for over a century. However, it was in September, 1955 that the Indian Coinage Act was amended for the country to adopt a metric system for coinage. The Act came into force with effect from 1 April 1957, after which anna and pice denominations were demonetised. The rupee remained unchanged in value and nomenclature. It, however, was now divided into 100 'paisa' instead of 16 annas or 64 pice. Effective from 30 June 2011, all coins in denominations of 25 paisa and below were officially demonetized.^[4]

Pre-decimal currency (1950-1957; minting ceased in 1955)	Decimal currency replacement (1957–present)	Decimal currency (dates minted)
N/A	10 rupees	2006–present
N/A	5 rupees	1992–present
N/A	2 rupees	1982–present
Rupee	Rupee (divided into 100 new paisa 1957-1964; divided into 100 paisa 1964–present.	1962–present
Half rupee	50 paisa	1960–present
Quarter rupee	25 paisa	1957-2002. Demonetized from 2011.
N/A	20 paisa	1968-1994. Demonetized from 2011.
2 annas	10 paisa	1957-1998. Demonetized from 2011.
Anna	5 paisa	1957-1994. Demonetized from 2011.
N/A	3 paisa	1964-1972; proofs minted until 1981. Demonetized from 2011.
Half anna	2 paisa	1957-1979; proofs minted until 1981. Demonetized from 2011.
Pice	Paisa	1957-1972; proofs minted until 1981. Demonetized from 2011, but retained as a unit of currency.

Coin series 1957-present (decimal)

Naya paisa series 1957–1963

The antiquated spelling of "pice" was modified to "paisa" in the singular and "paise" in the plural. For public recognition, the new decimal paisa was termed 'Naya Paisa' (New Paisa) till 1 June 1964 when the term 'Naya' was dropped. The coins of 50p, 25p, 10p, 5p, 2p, and 1p had a legend in Devanagari script explaining the value of coin in terms of fraction of a rupee.

Naya Paisa Series (1957 - 1963)

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
One Rupee			Nickel	Circular	28 mm	1962 - 1974
Fifty Naye paisa					24 mm	1957 - 1963
Twenty Five Naye paisa					19 mm	1957 - 1963
Ten Naye paisa			Cupro-Nickel	Eight Scalloped	23 mm (across scallops)	1957 - 1963
Five Naye paisa				Square	22 mm (across corners)	1957 - 1963
Two Naye paisa				Eight Scalloped	18 mm (across scallops)	1957 - 1963
One Naya Paisa			Bronze	Circular	16 mm	1957 - 1962
			Nickel Brass			1962 - 1963

Paisa series I with Devanagari Legend 1964 onwards

In June 1964, the term 'Naya' was dropped and the coins were reminted. The legend in Devanagari script explaining the value of coin in terms of fraction of a Rupee continued till it was finally dropped from the new design minted 1964 onwards.

Paisa Series I with Devanagari Legend (1964 - 1980s)

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
50 paisa			Nickel	Circular	24 mm	1964 - 1971
25 paisa			Nickel		19 mm	1964 - 1972
10 paisa			Copper Nickel	8 Scalloped	23 mm	1964 - 1967
			Nickel Brass			1968 - 1971
5 paisa			Copper Nickel	Square	22 mm	1964 - 1966
			Aluminium			1967 - 1971
2 paisa			Copper Nickel	8 Scalloped	18 mm	1964
1 paisa			Nickel Brass	Circular	16 mm	1964

Series II without the Devanagari Legend (1964 - 1983)

The coin minted from 1965 did not have the legend in Devanagari, explaining the value of the coin as a fraction of the rupee. Small denomination coins which were made of bronze, nickel-brass, cupro-nickel, and aluminium-bronze were gradually minted in aluminium.The first coin minted in such type was the 3 Paisa coin in 1964, which was a new denomination, and continued to be minted till 1971. One and Two paisa coins were changed to Aluminium and were minted without the Devanagari legend from 1965. 20 paisa coin was introduced in 1968, which continued to be minted till 1971.

Series II without Devanagari Legend (1964 - 1983)

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
1 rupee			Copper Nickel	Circular	28 mm	1975 - 1982
50 paisa					24 mm	1972 - 1973
						1974 - 1983
25 paisa					19 mm	1972 - 1990
20 paisa			Nickel Brass		22 mm	1968 - 1971
10 paisa			Aluminium	12 Scalloped	25.91 mm	1971 - 1982
5 paisa				Square	22 mm	1972 - 1984
3 paisa				Hexagonal	21 mm	1964 - 1971
2 paisa				8 Scalloped	20 mm	1965 - 1981
1 paisa				Square	17 mm	1965 - 1981

Series III 1982 Onwards

From 1982, New series was launched. the 20 paisa coin which was last minted in 1971, was reintroduced again, but in Aluminium. The size and the design of 10 paisa, 50 paisa and 1 rupee was changed, though they continued to be minted in the same metal. Coins of 3p, 2p and 1p were discontinued but continued to be the legal tender.

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
1 Rupee			Copper - Nickel	Circular	26 mm	1983 - 1991
50 paisa					24 mm	1984 - 1990
20 paisa			Aluminium	Hexagonal	26 mm	1982 - 1997
10 paisa				8 Scalloped	23 mm	1983 - 1993
5 paisa				Square	22 mm	1984 - 1994

Series IV 1988 Onwards

In Series IV, 5 paisa and 20 paisa coins were discontinued though they continued to be minted in Series III till 1994 and 1997 respectively. 10 paisa, 25 paisa and 50 paisa coins were minted in Stainless Steel. 1992 onwards, 1 Re coin was also minted in Steel and Rs. 2 and Rs. 5 coins in Copper Nickel were introduced. The very considerable costs of managing note issues of Re 1, Rs 2, and Rs 5 led to the gradual coinage of these denominations. These coins continued to be minted till 2004, when the Unity in diversity series was launched.

Cupro-Nickel coins are not minted anymore. Ferritic Stainless Steel coins of Two and Five Rupee denominations are currently in production.^[5]

2004 Unity in diversity Series

In 2004, RBI issued a series in denominations of 1 rupee, followed by 2 rupee and 10 rupee in 2005. These issues however came into circulation in 2006, and created a controversy over their design. 10 rupee coins were the first bimetallic coins issued in India, and because of the controversy and being minted in only one mint, most of the coinage never found its way into circulation. The ones which did were hoarded by Coin collectors and Coin hoarders.

2004 Unity in Diversity Series

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
10 rupee			Bimetallic Copper Nickel Center in Aluminium Bronze ring	Circular	27 mm	2005 - 2007
2 rupee			Stainless Steel		26.75 mm
1 rupee					25 mm	2004 - 2006

2007 Hasta Mudra Series

in 2007 RBi issued a new series of Coins, The Hasta Mudra Series, in coins of denominations 50 p, 1 rupee and 2 rupee. These coins were Stainless steel coins, and displayed various Hasta Mudras, - hand gestures in Indian Classical dance. 5 rupee Stainless Steel coin with waves in its design was also issued in 2007, as well as a new 10 rupee coin with changed design in 2008. 5 rupee coin design was again reverted to the previous design, though now it was issued in Nickel-brass instead of Copper-nickel. However these 5 rupee and 10 rupee coins were not the part of the Hasta Mudra series.

2007 Hasta Mudra Series

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
2 rupee			Stainless Steel	Circular	27 mm	2007 - 2011
1 rupee					25 mm
50 p					22 mm	2008 - 2010

The 5 rupee and 10 rupee coins were issued for common circulation in 2007, 2008, 2009 with changed designs and continued to be minted until the introduction of the Rupee Symbol series in 2011.

2007 - 2010 Common Circulation Coins for 5 rupee and 10 rupee

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
5 rupee			Stainless Steel	Circular	23 mm	2007 - 2008
10 rupee			Bimetallic Copper Nickel Center in Aluminium Bronze ring		27 mm	2008 - 2010
5 rupee			Nickel - Brass		23 mm	2009 - 2010

2011 New Series with the Rupee Symbol (₹)

In 2011, RBI issued a series in denominations of 50p, ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, and ₹10. The 50p, ₹1, ₹2, and ₹5 designs are identical except the absence of the rupee symbol in 50p coin. The ₹10 coin continued to be issued in bimetallic issues as previously.

2011 Rupee Symbol Series

Denomination	Image		Metal	Shape	Diameter	Minted in Year
	Obverse	Reverse
₹10 Ten rupees			Bimetallic Copper Nickel Center in Aluminium Bronze ring	Circular	27 mm	2011 -
₹ 5 Five Rupees			Nickel Brass		27 mm	2011 -
₹ 2 Two Rupees			Stainless Steel		25 mm	2011 -
₹ 1 One Rupee					21.93 mm	2011 -
50 p Fifty paisa					19 mm	2011 -

Mints

Domestic mint marks

• Kolkata - either no mint mark beneath the date of coin or a C is seen at 6'o clock position in British India coins.
• Mumbai - diamond mint mark under the date of the coin.
• Hyderabad - split diamond or a dot in diamond or five pointed star under the date of coin.
• Noida - a small or thick dot under the date of the Coin.

Because of the increasing demand for coins, the Indian government was forced to mint coins in foreign countries at various points in the country's history.

Foreign Mint Marks

• Pretoria - diamond mark under the date 1943.
• Seoul - a five pointed star under the date of the coin but exactly below the first or Last Digits of dates 1985 and 1997.
• Birmingham (Royal Mint, UK) - small dot under the date of the coin but exactly below the first digit of date 1985.
• Heaton Press - Ornamental/decorated letter "H" under the last digit of the date 1985.
• Ottawa - a "C" mint mark under the date of the coin.
• Mexico City - "M" mint mark under the date of the coin.

Mints in Daegu, Korea, Slovakia (Kremnca), and Russia (Moscow) have also been used.

Commemorative coins

The first Indian commemorative coin was issued in 1964 to mourn the death of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Since then, numerous coins of these type on almost all denomination from 5 paisa to 10 rupees have been issued. These coins based on famous personalities (usually issued on their birth or death centenary, or in rare cases on their death), government programmes and social messages.

Mints

Commemorative coins are made at various mints across India including the ones at Mumbai, Noida, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

The First Commemorative Coins

The first commemorative coins was dated 1964 and had a bust of Jawaharlal Nehru on observe and was issued in one and half rupee.

List of Commemorative Coins

Commemorative	Year	5P	10P	20P	25P	50P	1₹	2₹	5₹	10₹	20₹	25₹	50₹	60₹	75₹	100₹	125₹	150₹	200₹	500₹	1000₹
Jawaharlal Nehru	1964					KM	KM
जवाहरलाल नेहरु	1964					KM
Mahatma Gandhi	1969			KHM		KM	KM			KM
Food For All	1970			KM						KM
Food For All	1971			KM						M
25th Independence	1972					KM				KM
Grow More Food	1973					KM				M	M		M
Planned Families Food for All	1974		KHM
Women Year	1975		KHM							M			M
Food & Work For All	1976	KHM	KM							M			M
Save for Development	1977	KHM	KM							M			M
Food & Selter For All	1978	KHM	KHM							M			M
International Year of the Child (P)	1978															M
International Year of the Child	1979	KHM	KHM							M			M			M
Rural Women's Advancement	1980		KHM		KHM					M						M
World Food Day	1981		KM		KHM					M						M
IX Asian Games	1982		KHM		KHM			KM		M						M
World Food Day	1982		KHM	KH
National Integration	1982					KM		KM		M						M
Fisheries	1983			KH
Forestry for Development	1985				KHM
Reserve Bank of India	1985					KHM		KM		M
Indira Gandhi	1985					KHM			HM		M
International Youth Year	1985						KHM			K						M
Fisheries	1986					KHM					M					M
Small Farmer	1987						KHM				M					M
Rainfed Farming	1988						KHM
Jawaharlal Nehru	1989						KHM		HM		M					M
World Food Day	1989						KHM
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar	1990						HM
ICDS	1990						HM
SAARC Year - Girl Child	1990						HM
Food For the Future	1990						KH
Rajiv Gandhi	1991						HM
Commonweath Parliamentary	1991						M		M	M
Tourism Year	1991						HM	M	M
Food & Nutrition	1992						K
Land Vital Resource	1992							K
Quit India Movement	1993						KHM			M			M			M
Inter Parliamentary Union	1993						M
Small Family Happy Family	1993							HM
Bio Diversity	1993							HM
International Year of the Family	1994						MN
Water for Life	1994							KHM
ILO	1994								HMN				M			M
World Tamil Conference	1995						KHMN	M	MN
Globalizing Indian Agriculture	1995							KM
UNO	1995								MN
FAO	1995								HMN
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel	1995							M
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel	1996							KHMN		M			M			M
Mother's Health is Child's Health	1996								KHMN
International Crop Science	1996								K
Subhash Chandra Bose	1996							KN
Subhash Chandra Bose	1997							KHMN		M			M			M
50 year of Independence	1997					KHMN							M
Cellular Jail	1997						KHMN
Sri Aurobindo	1998							KMN		M			M			M
Deshbandhu Chittranjan Das	1998							KHN					K
Saint Dnyaneshwar	1999						KMN									M
Chattrapati Shivaji	1999							KHMN					M			M
Suprime Court of India	2000							KMN					M
Dr. Syama Prasad	2001							KHN		K			M			K
Bhagwan Mahabir	2001								MN							M
Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan	2002						HM
Saint Tukaram	2002							KHMN		K			M			M
Maharana Pratap	2003						HM			M						M
Veer Durgadas	2003						HM			M						M
Indian Railway	2003							KHMN								K
Dadabhai Naoraji	2003								KHM
Kumarasami Kamraj	2003								KHM							M
India Post	2004						K									K
Telecommunication	2004							K								K
Lal Bahadur Sastri (CuNi)	2004								K							K
Lal Bahadur Sastri (SS)	2004								KHM
Dandi March (CuNi)	2005								M							M
Dandi March (SS)	2005								M
Mahatma Basaveshwara (CuNi)	2006								M							M
Mahatma Basaveshwara (SS)	2006								M
ONGC (CuNi)	2006								K				M
ONGC (SS)	2006								KH
Sree Narayan Gurudev (CuNi)	2006								M							M
Sree Narayan Gurudev (SS)	2006								M
SBI (CuNi)	2006								K							K
SBI (CuNi)	2006								KH
Indian Airforce	2007							K								K
Lokamanya Bal Gandhar Tilak (CuNi)	2007								M							K
Lokamanya Bal Gandhar Tilak (SS)	2007								M
Tilakji Error (CuNi)	2007								M
First War of Independence	2007								M							M
Khadi & Village Industries (CuNi)	2007								M				M
Khadi & Village Industries (SS)	2007								M
Bhagat Singh	2007								KH							K
Shri Guru Granth Sahib	2008									HM						M
Saint Alphonsa	2009								KHM							M
Louis Braille	2009							KHM								K
Perarignar Anna	2009								KHM							K
60 years of Commonwealth	2009								KHM							M
Dr. Rajendra Prasad	2009								KHMN							K
Homi Bhaba	2009									MN						M
Reserve Bank of India	2010						HM	KHM	HM	HMN					KMHN
XIX Commonwealth Games	2010							KHN	KHMN
C. Subramaniam	2010								KHMN							HM
Brihadeswarar Temple Thanjaveer	2010								KHMN												M
Mother Teresa	2010								KHMN							K
Comptroller & Auditor General	2010								KHMN									K
Income Tax - Chanakya	2010								KHM									K
Income Tax - Chanakya	2011								KN
Civil Aviation	2010															H
Civil Aviation	2011								KHMN							M
Rabindra Nath Tegore	2011								KHMN									K
Indian Council of Medical Research	2011								KHMN							HM
Madan Mohan Malviya	2011								KHMN									M
Parliament of India	2012								KHMN
Shree Mata Vaishno Devi	2012								HMN	HMN		M
Kolkata Mint	2012								KHMN					K
Motilal Nehru	2012								KHMN									M
Kuka Movement	2013								KHMN							M
Swami Vivekananda	2013								KHMN									K
Coir Board	2013									KHMN				M
Acharya Tulsi	2014								KHMN		M
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad	2014								KHMN		K
Jawaharlal Nehru	2014								KHMN								K
Komagata Maru Incident	2014								HMN
Jamshetji Nusserawanji Tata	2015								KM
Begum Aktar	2015								KM							K
Rani Gaidiliu	2015								K
1965 Operation	2015								M				M
BHEL	2015								KM				K
Allahabad High Court	2015								HM									M
Biju Patnaik	2015								K							K
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar	2015									HM							K
Dr. Sarvapalli Radha Krishnan	2015									M							K
3rd Indo Africa Forum	2015									K										K
Maharana Pratap	2015									M						M
Swami Chimayananda	2015									KM						K
Gandhi Return from Africa	2015									KHMN
International Yoga Day	2015									MN
University of Mysore	2016								M							M
Lala Lajpat Rai	2016									K
Tantya Tope	2016									K									K
Banaras Hindu University	2016									M						M
National Archive of India	2016									K							K

Note: Bold Marks are Silver Coins, Mint index: K = Kolkata (no mark), H = Hyderabad (⋆), M = Mumbai (◆ or B), Noida = (●).

Controversies

Controversy over 2006 two-rupee coin

The two-rupee coin issued from 2006 by the Reserve Bank, in stark contrast to the earlier coin, is rounded and simpler in design, without the map of India. The coin has already been criticized for being difficult to recognize by the visually impaired.^[6] Most controversially, it features an equal-armed cross with the beams divided into two rays and with dots between adjacent beams. According to RBI, this design represents "four heads sharing a common body" under a new "unity in diversity" theme.^[7] However, Hindu nationalists have charged that the symbol is a Christian cross resembling the symbol on the deniers issued by Louis the Pious.^[8]

Bimetallic Coin

India's much awaited first ever bimetallic 10 rupee coin was released in 2005 under the theme "Unity in Diversity". But, due to its controversial design resembling a cross, it was criticised and was not minted in large numbers. Another reason for its availability being scarce is that it was minted only in one (Noida) of four mints in India. Coin dealers and the public who got this coin hoarded it and it never came into circulation. It is available for sale on some auction websites, but the price of this coin is very high in comparison to its denomination due to the uncertain number of issued coins. Some coin sellers claim that this coin is a limited edition. However, official information is not yet available on the number of mintage. A press release from Reserve Bank of India mentioned that there will be two themes of 10 rupee coins: "Unity in Diversity" and "Connectivity and Information technology". From 2008 coins based on the second theme, "Connectivity and Information technology", were also released. The coin depicts 15 rays above the numeric 10. It was again minted only by the Noida mint and was not easily available in circulation. From 2011, the same theme was continued with a slight design change showing 10 rays instead of the earlier 15 and the introduction of the new Re symbol. Now it is being minted in all four mints, which are Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Noida. Apart from these definitive coins, 10 rupee bi-metallic commemorative coins have also been released as follows: 2008 – Tri Centenary of Gur-ta-Gaddi 2009 – Homi Bhabha Birth Centenary 2010 – RBI Platinum Jubilee 2012 – 60 Years of Parliament's first sitting.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coins of the Republic of India.

• Indian rupee
• Coinage of India

References

External links

• Reserve Bank of India Coinage Museum
• Reserve Bank of India Paper Money
• www.indian-coins.com
• A blog on Antiques & Collectibles
• India Coin News & Forums
• Indian Coins and Numismatics Forum
• Coins World Records India