George VI one rupee

King George VI

George VI one rupee, 1941

George VI 1 rupee was minted for the first time in 1938, in silver. At that time the prices of silver were rising so very soon the metal was switched to half silver. Then in 1939, the second world war started. The mintage of one rupee coins were stopped in that year, so the 1 rupee of 1939 is probably the rarest currency of British India. After that, the mintage of the rupees was continued as usual in half silver for a few years. But all the same, the silver prices kept rising so ultimately the government had to start minting the rupee and other coins in nickel, starting from 1943. The nickel rupee of George VI is shown below. The one shown above is in half silver.

One rupee, 1947

The reverse of this coin , struck in nickel , shows one rupee written in englsih at the top, in hindi at the left and in urdu at the right. Apart from India and 1947, the year, we can see a lion.

Some of the coins minted in British India were also proof, and thus we had the earliest proof coins in India. The gold mohar of William IV had a nice symbol on the reverse, that of a lion and a palm tree. When the reserve bank was created, a symbol had to be defined for it. The lion and palm symbol was chosen for the bank, and that symbol is issued to date and also minted on some coins as in the case of this one rupee coin. This one is one of my favorite coins.

Albert Frederick Arthur George (George VI) was the king of England from 11 december 1936 to 6 Feb 1952, when he died. He was the last king of India until 1947, so this is the one of the last coins of British India. This one is made of nickel.

See also:

George VI nickel coins

George VI annas: yellow

George VI annas: grey

George VI half silver coins