India 1840 to 1850 – Victoria Continuous Legend – Two Annas Pattern

 

On 26th October 1836, the Court of Directors issued a dispatch ordering that copper coins should not be legal tender for sums greater than half rupee in value. Before this was put into practice, the issuance of a small silver denomination valued at 2 annas (1/8th rupee) was considered necessary. In April 1837 the Governor General supported this proposal [1] although the Mint Master estimated that coining two anna coins would cost about three times more than coining rupees, and the public did not seem keen to use the smaller silver denominations then in circulation, but preferred to use rupee and pice coins.

Nevertheless, in 1838, Act XXI authorised the coining of a two-anna denomination. Nothing happen until 1840, when the Court of Directors asked for a progress report on the matter. This stimulated Calcutta into activity and impressions from new dies were approved in February 1841 with specimens being sent to the Mint Committee in July 1841 where approval was received for the coinage to start.

On 17th May 1842, the Madras Mint Master recommended that the edge of the coin should be plain. The Calcutta Mint Master agreed and Council approved this on 3rd August 1842. From this, Pridmore concluded that coins struck before August 1842 would have had a grained edge, although he had not seen such a coin [2]. Subsequently, Howard Simmons has identified a specimen with a grained edge (personal communication). The coin appears, from the lack of a mintmark and with a diameter of 15.5 mm, to have been struck at Bombay, although it is slightly worn, and there is a possibility that the tiny crescent mark of Calcutta has worn away.

 


[1] Bengal Consultations. IOR P/162/88, December 1837 No 23

Resolution passed at the Consultation of 29th November 1837

… The next point is the measure ordered by the Honorable the Court of Directors, Viz the coining of two anna pieces of silver preparatory to declaring copper to be a legal tender only for one half a rupee.

The President in Council observes that in order to give to the Governments of Bengal and Bombay the power of coining silver pieces of lower value than 4 annas, it will be necessary to pass an act modifying Act XVII of 1835, which specifies only four descriptions of silver coin are to be struck at the mints of India, Viz rupees, double rupees, halves and quarters. The Secretary has, in his supplementary note dated 30th September, submitted a draft of act for this purpose in which he has also included provisions for modifying that part of the act which requires that the coinage shall always be of the device of the head of the reigning sovereign at the date of actual coinage which at each succession to the throne proves very inconvenient. The object of the draft is to prescribe that each coinage shall be made under an order of the Governor General in Council passed in the executive department and bearing the date of that order and the effigy of the sovereign reigning on that date shall continue until altered by a subsequent similar order.

The president in Council approving of the provisions of this draft orders that it be transferred to the legislative department to be therein further considered.

It has already been determined to postpone the withdrawal of the privilege of legal tender to the extent of a rupee from copper coin with a view to restrict the privilege to an amount not exceeding 8 annas until there has been a more extensive issue of small silver coin available for circulation. To this resolution the President in Council adheres.

[2] Pridmore p9-10, 12