6 Interesting Antique Indian Coins Issued by Dutch and Danish Rulers

When it comes to Indian coinage from the colonial era, collectors are more inclined towards collecting rare coins of British India. There were many other European powers who issued rare coins in India. Let’s take a look at a few interesting colonial coins that were issued by the Dutch East India Company and Danish East India Company. 

Gold Pagoda of Dutch East India Company

These antique Indian coins were issued by the Dutch East India Company between the years 1747 and 1784. This gold pagoda was die-struck featuring a degenerated Vishnu, lazy "J" on the obverse and granulated designs on the reverse.

4 Cash Copper Coin of Dutch East India Company

These antique coins of India were issued by the Dutch East India Company and bore the denomination 4 Cash. They were die-struck in copper and featured the VOCX monogram along with letter N and digit 4 on the obverse. The reverse of these colonial coins featured Tamil text Nakapattanam.

1 Cash Lead Coin of Dutch East India Company

These antique India coins were die-struck by the Dutch East India Company in lead. They bore the denomination Cash and featured the N/VOC monogram on the Obverse while the reverse features the Tamil Legend in Two lines, Tamil "Nakapattanam".

1 Stuiver Copper Coin of Dutch East India Company

Here’s another example of antique Indian coins that was issued by the Dutch East India Company.  These copper coins bore the denomination Stuiver and were die-struck featuring the facing figure of God Kali on the obverse while the reverse depicts the Tamil inscription in two lines 'Nakapattanam'

1 Cash Lead Coin of Danish East India Company

These rare colonial coins were die-struck in lead by Danish East India Company during the regime of Christian IV. They bore the denomination cash and featured the texts DAN/NISB/ORG in three lines on the obverse while the reverse depicted the VOCD Monogram.

2 Cash copper coin of Danish East India Company

These antique coins of India were die-struck in Copper by Danish East India Company during the regime of Frederik V in 1761. They bore the denomination 2 Cash and featured the Crowned F5 Monogram, Block F on the obverse while the reverse featured a crowned DAC Monogram which divides date, 2 below.

Keep exploring more about the Rarest Coins of India that were issued by colonial powers other than the British East India Company and put together an impressive collection.

Types of Banknote Collecting Supplies and their Uses

There is a huge community of people out there who love collecting banknotes because they like exploring about new countries, their traditions, history and much more. However, not many are aware of the ways in which they can take care of their collection. Most collectors might store their valuable banknotes haphazardly, which might affect their condition in the long run. Very few of them understand the importance of investing in the right kind of banknote collecting supplies. Let’s take a look at different types of banknote accessories and how they help collectors in maintaining the condition of their notes for a long period of time.     

Image Courtesy: www.mintageworld.com

Banknote album:
A Banknote album contains several pages and each page contains plastic pouches in which you can slide in your banknotes. Both sides of these plastic pouches are transparent so that both the obverse and reverse designs are clearly visible. A banknote collection album protects your precious notes from dust and moisture. It also ensures that your notes never get folded or torn. The quality of banknote collecting supplies matters a lot as local brands manufacture them by using low-end materials. These accessories might not offer complete protection to your notes and their plastic pouches might get torn very easily. It is best if you stick to renowned and trusted brands so that you don’t have any regrets later on. 

Banknote sleeves:
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on banknote albums then you can buy banknote sleeves separately as well. These banknote accessories help in organising your collection based on different themes, time periods, country names and more. If you want to ensure that the market value of your collectibles does not drop over the years, then you must store your notes in branded banknote collecting supplies.

What differentiates a good collector from the rest is the level of commitment. If you are really committed towards your hobby then you will not think twice when it comes to investing in the best accessories out there. Now-a-days you will find all kinds of products on the internet. But it is your responsibility to do your bit of research before taking a final call. 

Interesting Varieties of Modern Indian Coins You Can Pursue Collecting

Coin collectors are generally keen on collecting ancient Indian coins and medieval coins of India. Most of them are not aware about interesting varieties of Modern Indian Coins and don’t explore them in detail. Today, let’s look at a few interesting examples of modern coins and their history.

After India’s independence on 15th August 1947, British currency was still circulated as frozen money for some period of time. The very first modern coins of India were introduced in the year 1950. These coins of modern India bore the denomination 1 rupee. I Pice Bronze Coin was issued by the Government of India in 1954. These round shaped coins belonged to the Anna Series, weighed 2.95 grams and had a diameter of 21 millimetres. Modern Indian coins of the denomination 1/2 Re, 1/4 Re, 2 Anna, 1 Anna and 1/2 Anna were the other coins to be issued in the same series before the decimal system was adopted in 1957.

Modern coins of India that were issued from 1957 to 1964 featured the text "Naya Paisa" which means "new" paisa in Hindi. 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 (naya) paise coins were introduced during this period. One rupee coins had the same pre-decimal value. The extra legend was added so that people did not get confused between old paisa and the new paisa coins.

5 Paise Aluminium coins were issued by Government of India in the year 1976. These square shaped modern coins of India weighed around 1.5 grams and each side measured 22 millimetres. They belonged to the Decimal coinage series and were based on the theme “Food and Work for all”.

Stainless Steel was used to strike modern coins of India for the first time in 1988. In the year 1992, lighter stainless steel modern coins of the denomination 1 rupee were introduced alone with 5 rupee cupronickel coins. The latest coins of modern India are the 10 rupees coins. When it comes to rare modern coins in India, you can look for commemorative coins that were issued in limited numbers or modern Indian coins with errors. 

Two Fine Examples of British Currency in India you must have in your collection

The history of British India currency notes has always been fascinating due to which currency of British India is studied by notaphilists all across the globe. Let’s take a detailed look at two uniface notes of British India today.

50 Rupees British India Uniface Note of 1861

When it comes to British currency in India, this 50 Rupees note printed on handmade white paper for Calcutta circle on 13th July 1861 is considered to be very special.  These lovely British India notes were also known as Uniface notes as they featured a portrait of Queen Victoria on one side while the other side was left blank. These rectangular notes of British India had the dimensions 16cm X 30cm, featured the signature of H. Hydes and a prefix A.
The obverse of this currency of British India featured a portrait of Queen Victoria in a floral wreath; 'Government of India'; Serial numbers with prefix on both sides of the promise text; Denomination in words in Bangla and Persian; Circle between printed mirrored dates on both side; Denomination in numerals in a panel in Persian and Bangla; name of Sub-Circle as an overprint; Hand stamped signature, text 'For The Government Of India; Denomination panel in numerals and words. The Watermark features the text GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, denomination in words and numerals in a rectangle, signature of the finance member of legislative Council, Sir James Wilson, signature of the Governor General, Lord canning, wavy lines in central promise text panel.

1000 Rupees British India Uniface Note of 1867 

British Currency in India was issued in various denominations and designs. This British Indian currency note bore the denomination 1000 Rupees and was issued for Calcutta circle on white handmade moulded paper on 8th July 1867. These rectangular British India currency notes had the dimension 12cm X 17cm and featured designs only on one side. This Uniface Specimen note featured the prefix B and four languages on the language panel namely, Urdu, Hindi, Kaithi, Bengali.
The obverse of this currency of British India featured a Green underprint with two serial numbers; Language panel; Serial numbers on both sides below the language panel; text 'Government Of India'; two pairs of mirrored dates, Circle of Issue, promise text; Denomination panel on both sides; '1000/Rupees' in a hexagon in the top corners; 'For The Government Of India', signature; Irregular ovals under serial numbers and a big text '1000' inside the promise text. The watermark on these old notes of British India featured Wavy lines within a wavy rectangular panel, “INDIA”, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, Vertical RUPEES, Plate number in an alphabet, week and year of printing in four digits.

Not many would be lucky enough to have a special collection of British Currency in India. Keep looking for them, and let us know if you find anything interesting!

Four Coins of World issued by lesser known Empires and Territories

Coins of the world tell us a lot about the country or territory which issued it. Let’s take a close look at four valuable coins from around the world which were issued in lesser known corners of the globe.  

5 Fils Coin from Kuwait

When it comes of coins of the world, not many collectors are keen on collecting coins of Kuwait. Here’s an interesting 5 Fils coin from Kuwait which was struck by Al Sabah Dynasty under the regime of Abdullah Ibn Salim in 1961 or AH 1380. These round-shaped Nickel-Brass coins weighed around 2.50g and had a diameter of 19.5 millimetres. They were Die-Struck featuring the coin’s value within a circle and country's name below on the obverse. The reverse features a ship with sails and dates below.

Brass 10 Centimes from the French Protectorate of Cambodia

Several collectors of Coins from around the world like collecting token coinage as well, like this round shaped Brass 10 Centimes issued for the French Protectorate of Cambodia somewhere between 1875 and 1904. These coins of the world did not feature any year date and had a diameter of 26 millimetres. They were die-struck under the issuer, Panom Penh Royal Palace. The coin featured a square shaped hope in the centre. The Obverse featured the legend SOMDACH PREA NORODOM while the reverse featured the denomination.

Silver Baht from Thailand

If you like collecting interesting World Coins then here’s a beautiful silver coin issued for Chakri region under the regime of Rama III in 1824. These irregular shaped coins bore the denomination Baht and weighed somewhere around 14.86 grams to 15.43 grams. The year date was not mentioned on the coin.  The first mark of Rama III was the Krut bird, the second one was Prasat the palace, third was Dok Mai flower, fourth one was Bai Matum a bale-fruit tree and the fifth one was Ruang Puang beehive. An arrow head with just 1 dot below the point was used as the sixth mark of Rama III. The obverse featured the Prasat symbol. These striking coins fall under the category of Bullet Coinage and are also called as Silver Pot Duag.

25 Sous Silver Coin from the British Colony in Mauritius 

If you are looking for Valuable Coins from around the world, here’s an interesting round-shaped 3.29 grams 25 Sous silver coin issued for the British Colony in Mauritius during the regime of King George VI in 1822. The fascinating aspect about these world coins is that the legends are in French but the coins are actually British. Even though Mauritius was under the Britain, the language of the island remained French. The obverse features the legend RECU au TRESOR within a circular decoration. The reverse features the denomination within a circular pattern.

Start searching for these wonderful World Coins, and keep adding them to your collection.