Extract from the IOR

31^st December 1818. Bombay Consultations, 31^st December 1818. IOR P/408/39.

Letter from the Commissioner in the Deccan to Government, dated 19th December 1818.

I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of Mr Secretary Newnham’s letter of the 5^th instant, and to acquaint you, for the information of the Right Honble the Governor in Council, that the consignment of Dollars therein advised arrived here, under charge of Captain Gellum on the 7^th instant, when the number of chests were found to correspond with the invoice received.

It became of question whether it would be more advantageous to dispose of the dollars to bankers or to coin them into the ankooshe rupee, the currency of this part of the Deccan. I was at first induced to direct the latter conceiving it would be more to the interest of Government, but Captain Robertson, into whose treasury the dollars were paid, having received an offer for the whole supply at two hundred and thirty one rupees for every hundred, which appear equal to if not more than what they would have produced at the mint, I was led to accede to the terms and the dollars have been disposed of at that rate.

13^th January 1819. Bombay Consultations, 13^th January 1819. IOR P/411/39, p1.

Letter from the Commissioner in the Deccan to Government, dated 5^th January 1819

I have the honor in compliance with the request contained in your letter of the 29^th ultimo, to forward 50 of the new Chappee Ankoosee and fifty of the Bellaporee rupees for the purpose of being examined by the Mint Committee. I likewise forward for the same purpose a similar number of the old Chappee rupees, termed here Nurrum Chappee, which bears greater discount than the new Chappee. These samples are marked and numbered as under, and have been taken indiscriminately from large sums, with the exception of the Bellaporee, of which description only a small number could be found at one place.

27^th January 1819. Bombay Consultations, 27^th January 1819. IOR P/411/39, p9.

Letter from the Mint Committee to Government, dated 9^th February 1819.

We have the honor to acknowledge receipt of Mr Acting Secretary Simson’s letter of the 12^th ultimo, transmitting the copy of one from the Honble the Commissioner at Poona dated the 5^th, forwarding samples of the new and old Chappee Ankoosee and of the Bellaporee rupees amounting to one hundred and fifty, to be examined and reported on, as proposed in our letter of the 21^st of December last.

In reply we request you will have the goodness to lay the enclosed copy of a memorandum, by the Assay Master, shewing the result of his examination of the coins in question, before the Right Honble the Governor in Council, to which we have only to add that the most effectual way, in our opinion, to counteract the machinations of the shroffs, will be to keep the military paymasters at all times plentifully supplied with copper coin.

There then follows a table of the assay.

	Weight (grains, decimal)	Touch %	Pure Silver (grains, decimal)	Value in Pice
Bellaporee Rupee	172.08	83.75	144.117	56 ½
New Chappee Ankoosee Rupee	172.40	71.75	158.177	62
Old or Nurrum Chappee Rupee	172.16	91.30	157.52	61 ¾
Chinchoree or Ankusee Rupee (as per assay report Feb 1817)	172.50	92	158.70	62.20

25^th February 1819. Bombay Consultations, 25^th February 1819. IOR P/411/39, p15.

Letter from the Commissioner at Poona to Government, dated 22^nd February 1819.

Sends specimens of different coins found in circulation with a description of each type. These descriptions are used in the assay table produced in 1821 (see above).

17^th March 1819. Bombay Consultations, 17^th March 1819. IOR P/411/39, p26.

Letter from the Commissioner at Poona to Government, dated 7^th March 1819.

States that the paymaster would need about 15-20,000 rupees worth of pice to make the troops independent of the soukars, but putting this amount into the market will cause the value of the pice to decline and result in losses to the troops.

He then goes on to give an estimate of the cost of producing pice at Poona.

This is forwarded to the Mint Committee for comment.

7^th April 1819. Bombay Consultations, 7^th April 1819. IOR P/411/39, p30.

Letter from the Mint Committee to Government, dated 26^th March 1819.

We have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 15^th instant, transmitting to us the copy of one from the Honble the Commissioner at Poona dated the 7t^h and desiring an opinion and report on Mr Elphinstone’s proposal to consign a quantity of copper to the Deccan, for the purpose of being coined into pice.

In reply we request you will have the goodness to inform the Right Honble the Governor in Council that it never was in the contemplation of the Committee that copper pice were to be manufactured and supplied from the Presidency for the service of the Deccan, at least for the present, and that all we intended by the latter part of the concluding paragraph of our letter of the 9^th ultimo, was to offer a suggestion on the effectual means of avoiding the exactions of the money changers.

Under this explanation, and with the knowledge that copper fit for coining can be supplied from hence at the rate of rupees seventy five per cent, it will be very easy for Mr Elphinstone to determine on the propriety or otherwise of a consignment being made to the Deccan for that purpose.

On the 2^nd April 1819, a copy of the above was sent to the Commissioner in the Deccan.

12^th April 1819. Bombay Consultations, 21^st April 1819. IOR P/411/39, p32.

Letter from the Commissioner at Poona to Government, dated 12^th April 1819.

States that he would not recommend sending copper to Poona for making pice to supply the military paymasters whilst the price of copper remains so high (seventy five rupees per cent).

4^th August 1819. Bombay Consultations, 4^th August 1819. IOR P/411/39, p90.

Letter from the Warehouse-keeper to Government dated 30^th July 1819.

Reminds Government that the Commissioner at Poona was in need of copper for coining pice but that the pice had been too high. The price had now fallen and he wondered if the Commissioner would now be interested.

This was forwarded to Poona on the 3^rd August 1819.

1^st September 1819. Bombay Consultations, 1^st September 1819. IOR P/411/39, p130.

Letter from the Commissioner at Poona to Government, dated 19^th August 1819.

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4^th instant, with copy of one from Mr Goodwin communicating the invoice price of the late importation of copper and requesting whether it is my wish to receive a supply, for mint purposes, at the rate therein mentioned Viz. Rupees 71.1.37 per cent.

In reply I beg you will do me the favour to mention to the Right Honble the Governor, that altho’ the price above specified appears too high to promise any advantage from the measure proposed, yet I should be happy to have a small supply sent up for trial, and should the experiment be found to answer, a larger consignment suitable to the probable demand, can hereafter be forwarded. I beg therefore to suggest that half a ton of copper be consigned to me at as early a period as may be convenient and that the expense of conveyance may at the same time be communicated.

Minute of the 28^th August 1819. Resolved that the Warehouse-keeper should send ½ ton of copper to Poona.

22^nd March 1820. Bombay Consultations, 22^nd March 1820. IOR P/411/40, p22.

Letter from the Warehouse-keeper to Government, dated 17^th March 1820.

He states that new copper is about to arrive at Bombay and can probably be provided to Poona at 60 rupees per cent (it had been 75 and then 71).

29^th March 1820. Bombay Consultations, 29^th March 1820. IOR P/411/40.

Letter from the Mint Committee to Government, dated 11^th March 1820.

We have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Mr Farish’s letter of the 2^nd instant, together with the Poona maund and seer therein adverted to, and now proceed to offer our opinion on the subject of the letter from the Commissioner at Poona dated the 21^st November and its enclosures, shewing the number of pice that a certain quantity of copper consigned to Poona would produce, and the expense of coining it.

Although on an examination of the maund and seer, their actual weights have proved less than those assumed in Mr Lumsden’s memorandum, the difference is not so great as very materially to affect his calculations, and as copper of a quality fit for coining cannot, all charges included, be supplied from hence at a much cheaper rate than that already sent to Poona, which it appears cannot be coined into pice of the present weight to be exchanged, at 64 for a rupee, without considerable loss, it becomes necessary to alter either the weight or exchangeable value, so as to prevent it, at all events, being a losing concern.

For the reasons assigned in the 5^th paragraph of our letter of the 8^th instant regarding a copper coinage for Broach, we are opinion that the division of 64 pice for the rupee should be preserved, and nearly the same reasoning pursued in the 6^th & 8^th paragraphs, regarding the weight, will equally apply to Poona, only that in the event of the coinage being conducted at the expense of Government, we would recommend that the weight of the pice be no further diminished than may be sufficient to cover that expense.

For the information of the Collector at Poona, we have the honor to annex a memorandum, by the Assay Master, shewing the exact weight of the Poona maund and seer, in troy and avoirdupois weight.

26^th April 1820. Bombay Consultations, 26^th April 1820. IOR P/411/40.

Letter to the Commissioner at Poona from the Collector at Poona, dated 12^th April 1820.

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letters dated the 29^th ultimo and the instant.

I have not yet taken any steps on the orders contained in Mr Farish’s letter enclosed in your former dispatch but Mr Lumsden has been good enough to draw up the enclosed memorandum and statement, which you may perhaps agree with me in thinking to be very creditable to his diligence and judgement.

On attempting to turn Mr Farish’s letter into the native language, that I might act as directed by the Government, I was not confident that the subject was completely understood by me, since in the third paragraph a diminution in the weight of the pice is contemplated, and in the forth paragraph a reduction of their number. I respectfully beg to suggest that there may be an error in the fourth paragraph, but your clearing away my present misunderstanding of the subject shall oblige me.

The number of pice which at present goes to the rupee (independent of the fluctuating value) is as stated by Mr Lumsden, the very number which the Government wishes to fix. There is therefore no necessity to reduce the weight of the pice in order to increase their number. It would only be requisite to reduce their weight sufficiently to clear the loss of coinage at present incurred. Now, the immediate effect of such a reduction in weight would probably be the disappearance in a few days of all the old and good pice with which the market is a present quite filled; and the ultimate effect, if Mr Lumsden’s view of the subject be, as I consider it, correct, would be that the new pice would probably fall in value and that a number greater than 64 in direct proportion to the difference of weight between the old and the new pice would pass for a rupee.

There then follows a long memorandum from Mr Lumsden, which is essentially summarised in the letter above.

17^th May 1820. Bombay Consultations, 17^th May 1820. IOR P/411/40.

Letter from the Commissioner in the Deccan (Mr Chaplin) to Government, dated 7^th May 1820.

I have the honor to solicit the instructions of Government whether the mint contractors in the Deccan are to be continued or not for the ensuing Fuslee.

Letter from Government to the Commissioner in the Deccan, dated 13^th May 1820.

Ordered Mr Chaplin be informed the present system of conducting the mints in the Deccan is to be continued till further orders.

Mr Chaplin will however correspond with the Mint Committee at the Presidency for the purpose of ascertaining whether a change be desirable.

5^th February 1823. Bombay Consultations, 5^th February 1823. IOR P/411/41

Letter from the Assay Master to Government.

Having received from the Collector of Poona specimens of Poona Hallee Sicca rupees lately coined there, for assay, I have the honor to submit for his information the result of my examination of them.

	Weight Grs Decls	Touch Pct	Pure Silver Grs Decls	Value of 100 In B’bay Rupees
No 1	175	97.75	171 – 06	103 – 87
No 2	175	97.75	171 – 06	103 – 87
No 3	175.25	97.50	170 – 86	103 – 75
Av of 17	175	97.75	171 – 06	103 - 87

there then follows more details.

19^th March 1823. Bombay Mint Proceedings 19^th March 1823. Extract of a report from the Commissioner in the Deccan 25^th August 1823? Transferred from the Revenue Department. IOR P/411/41 p13.

195. The Poona mint was lately shut for some time owing to the detection of certain frauds on the part of the contractor and several complaints were made of commercial embarrassment and difficulty in consequence of its having ceased to work. It has however been again set a going. The only other mint in this part of the Deccan is that of Chandoor.

22^nd October 1823. Bombay Consultations 22^nd October 1823. IOR P/408/55, p77.

Letter from the Commissioner in the Deccan to Government, dated 11^th October 1823.

Outlines the case against the mint contractor and the reasons for closing the Poona Mint.

…The mint farm was knocked down to him for the year [for 1821/22] at a public auction as the highest bidder and he entered into security for the payment, and the faithful performance of his engagement. The weight and assay of the coin to be struck were particularly specified, and for every deviation from the standard he was to be fined 500 rupees. The contractor adhered to the conditions of his agreement until the month of May 1822 when he was found out mixing up more than the prescribed quantity of alloy in the coins. The extent to which this deterioration had been caused not being known, some decisive measures became necessary to check the evil and the mint was accordingly shut up and the Farmer placed in jail to stand his trial for the fraudulent breach of contract. In the examination which followed, it was discovered that he had sent a considerable quantity of depreciated money into circulation, and being found guilty of the charge brought against him was sentenced to pay a fine of 3700 rupees, double the amount which he gained by debasing the coin and indemnifying Government for the loss sustained by the closure of the mint – which was 3637 rupees.

25^th February 1824. Bombay Consultations 25^th February 1824. IOR P/411/42 p13

Petition from Appajee Muckajeesett to Government dated 4^th February 1824.

Solicits the remission of an indemnification to Government for the loss sustained from the mint at Poona having been closed on account of his breach of agreement

20^th February 1824. Letter from Government to Appajee Muckajeesett.

Government rejects the petition.

11^th August 1824. Bombay Consultations 11^th August 1824. IOR P/411/42 p69

Petition from Appajee Muckajee to Government dated 5^th July 1824.

A petition similar to previous and he repeats it again on the 5^th July 1824.

7^th August 1824. Reply to Appajee Muckajee.

He is referred to their earlier reply rejecting his petition.

19^th July 1826. Bombay Consultations, 19^th July 1826. IOR P/408/65.

Letter from the sub-secretary to Government, dated 7^th July 1826

I have the honor to enclose, to be laid before the acting President in Council, copy of a correspondence with the Collector of Poona, relative to the disposal of the mint contract in the city of Poona.

Letter to John Warden Esq., sub-secretary to Government, from D. Robertson, Collector of Poona, dated 1^st July 1826

I have the honor to request the orders of the Honble the Governor in Council in respect to the disposal of the mint contract for the current Fuslee year.

Two offers have been received for this farm, one amounting to rupees 3,500 and one rupees 3,22 - and the reason of my not accepting the highest is to explain the propriety of my being allowed to accept the lowest offer. During the last two years the farmer (who is the person that has offered the least sum this year) has sustained considerable loss from the small number of rupees that have fallen from the mint – In fact it has been kept going almost entirely by his own imports of silver. The effect of its operation being stopped (which they would have been but for these imports of bullion) would have been to cause the exchange to sink nearly to par with Bombay and thereby to have occasioned Government to lose considerably in the bills of exchange drawn upon it by me to so great an extent during the last two years.

As there is only 300 rupees difference between the offers of the old and the new farmer, therefore I beg to recommend that I be permitted to give the farm to the lowest bidder who has lost by the contracts of two previous years, and who, by his endeavours to clear himself has greatly benefited Government in its pecuniary transactions.

To the Collector at Poona from Government, dated 4^th July 1826

I am directed by the Honorable the Governor to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated the 1^st instant respecting the disposal of the mint contract for the present Fuslee year.

If there is not [any] sort of pledge that the contract was to go to the highest bidder, the Governor is of opinion that it may be given to the lowest. But if there was any understanding of the above nature, it should be given to the highest, the lowest bidder being in that case remunerated in some other way.

To the sub-treasurer to Government from the Collector of Poona, dated 5^th July 1826.

I have the honor to reply to your letter of yesterday’s date to state from the information of the Honble the Governor in Council that there is no engagement binding me to dispose of the mint contract to the highest bidder, it having been found in a previous year that in order to obtain the management of the mint, disreputable persons, to whom it would be improper to give it in charge, made tenders beyond its real worth – and since then I have reserved to myself a discretion of selection. In the case referred on the 1^st instant, the person who offered the highest sum was as unexceptionable as the other who offered the lowest.

To the Accountant General from Government, dated 13^th July 1826.

I am directed by the Honble the Governor in Council to inform you that the mint contract of Poona has been disposed of for rupees 3,200 for the current Fuslee.

20^th April 1831. Bombay Consultations, 20^th April 1831. IOR P/409/19.

Report on the establishments throughout the Bombay Presidency.

Poona had an establishment of 1 native on 1^st May 1830. He was a superintendent whose job was to manage the mint contractor.

7^th June 1831. Bombay Consultations, 7^th June 1831. IOR P/411/50.

Letter from the Junior Principal Collector of Poona to Government, dated 28^th May 1831.

I have the honor to request you will have the goodness to obtain instructions from the Right Honorable the Governor in Council for my guidance as to whether I am to give the mint of this city in contract the ensuing year, for should the new currency be issued within the year, when I presume all subordinate mints will be closed, there would arise a difficulty in settling with the contractor. I beg to observe it has hitherto been customary to give the Government tax on the coinage at the mint here in contract, and should the new currency be not issued before June 1832, I should recommend the continuance of this custom.

29^th June 1831. Bombay Consultations, 29^th June 1831. IOR P/411/50.

Letter to the Junior Principal Collector of Poona from Government, dated 27^th June 1831.

I am directed by the Right Honourable the Governor in Council to acknowledge the receipt of your letter to Mr Secretary Williamson dated the 28^th ultimo and to authorize you to continue for another year, the contract for coining silver only; as copper coin will be supplied to you from the mint at the Presidency.

29^th February 1832. Bombay Consultations, 29^th February 1832. IOR P/411/51.

Letter from the Junior Principal Collector of Poona, dated 25^th November 1831.

He stated that little progress had been made with distributing the new copper coins and there was a large stock in hand. It would take a considerable time to get them accepted.

The paymaster had refused to accept them for paying the troops because shopkeepers increased the price of goods paid for with them.

He had sent 5,000 rupees worth to Sholapore.

22^nd January 1834. Bombay Consultations, 22^nd January 1834. IOR P/411/53.

Letter from the Principal Collector of Poona to Government, dated 9^th January 1834.

I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated the 7^th instant, and in reply beg you will have the goodness to inform the Right Honorable the Governor in Council that two silver coins continue to fall from the mint of Poona both having the Fusly year “1243” stamped upon them. These are called the one “Hallee Sicca” and the other “Ankoosee”. The Poona mint not having been ordered to be stopped, the coins, to which Mr Gilberne alludes, have most probably been coined by authority here.

22^nd October 1834. Bombay Consultations, 22^nd October 1834. IOR P/411/53, No 277.

From the Principal Collector at Poona dated 17^th September 1834.

Refers to the abolition of the mint here.

12^th November 1834. Bombay Consultations, 12^th November 1834. IOR P/411/53, No. 288.

Letter from the Principal Collector of Poona dated 15^th October 1834

Refers to an increase in inflation because of closure of the mint