India
1835 to 1840 – William IV – Rupee
Rupees
were authorised by Act XVII, dated 17th August 1835, and details were announced by
proclamation dated 2nd
September 1835. With the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837, a new act, XXXI, 1837, suspended
those parts of Act XVII, 1835 that referred to the issue of the coins with the
effigy of the reigning monarch. Rupees dated 1835 were issued from September
1835 until November 1840, when a proclamation announced the restoration of Act
XVII.
They were only issued from the mints of Bombay and Calcutta, although there
is an official return from the Madras
mint claiming a mintage of 1.2 million rupees bearing the date 1835. Designs
for both the obverse and reverse were prepared at Calcutta. The initials on the truncation of
the neck refer to the mint masters at Calcutta
– RS = Robert Saunders (7.4.1826 to 4.1.1836), and F = William Forbes (5.1.1836
to 23.1.1855).
Coins bearing the initials F and RS can
definitely be attributed to Calcutta.
Pridmore states that the ratio of 'F' to 'plain' rupees is approximately 2:1
and, since the ratio of actual coins struck also occurs at this ratio, it is
fair to assume that the 'plain' bust belongs to Bombay [1].
The major die varieties are fairly easy
to identify. However, there have been a number of observations recording very
small differences, particularly referring to the mid-veins (or ribs) on various
leaves in the reverse wreath (e.g. Paul Withers, Randy Weir, personal
communication). Only the major varieties have been recorded within the
catalogue.