World money: Indian coins

Very interesting not only for numismatists, but for all who are interested in money, a rupee coin. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka - this is the list of countries where it is in circulation.

All the banknotes of the national currency of India depict one and the same portrait - Mahatma Gandhi, one of the famous politicians who influenced the liberation of the state from colonial dependence. A denomination of 10 rupees is circulating in the country almost daily.

A bit of history

This money in due time was introduced into the turnover in the form of silver coins by the Indian kings Sherhan. In honor of him, the great writer R. Kipling in his "Book of the Jungle" called the main tiger.

The name of the currency of India goes back to Sanskrit. According to one version, it came from the word rupia, which means "silver that was processed." On the other - from the word rura - "animals", or "cattle".

Until 1947, the state remained a colony of Great Britain. A small coin of India was minted with a picture of the profiles of British monarchs. After gaining independence, the rate of the rupee remained tied to the pound for a long time, and only in 1993 it became floating.

Facts about rupee

In the official financial world, the Indian rupee knows the following:

• The issuer and the territory of circulation are India.
• The currency was introduced in 1526.
• 1 rupee consists of 100 paises.
• Coins and banknotes in circulation: 50 pais, 1, 2, 5 and 10 rupees - coins, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rupees - paper currency.

Given that the composition of the population of India is multinational, notes on banknotes are duplicated in English, Hindi and 15 more of the 22 official languages of the country.

To import or export a rupee from India is prohibited. This does not include Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. You can import US dollars, but with a total of more than 2500, you need a declaration. By law, a tourist can not take out more money than the amount he has brought.

In circulation, Indian rupees of different years of release. They have different colors and pictures, but there is an image of Mahatma Gandhi on all. In size, each denomination, starting from ten, is greater than the previous one by 1 cm. The most runner is a banknote of 100 rupees.

Indian coins of the early years of release, in addition to numerical designation, had finger images. This was done for the semi-literate strata of the population. Coins are used by tourists mainly for offerings to the gods, in circulation they play a minor role.

Coins of India during the period of colonial dependence had an unusual shape. For example, a coin with a denomination of 1 anna, issued in 1944, has a wavy edge. On the reverse of this coin the profile of the English king-emperor George VI. Some coins of India have the shape of a square with rounded corners.

Not all banks in India are engaged in exchanging rupees for dollars. At airports, a special tax is levied on currency exchange. In banks in coastal cities, you can bargain to a better deal.

Rupee at the present stage

Not so long ago, coins of India acquired their symbol and became a recognizable currency. It consists of elements of the Indian alphabet and looks similar to the English letter R.

On the top are two features parallel to each other. The symbol chosen from thousands of variants sent from all the settlements of the country, signifies the unity of Indian centuries-old culture and modernity.

Now Indian rupee is easier to distinguish from rupees of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bangladesh. The symbol is also present on the banknotes.