________________
NOVEMBER, 1882.) THE COINAGES OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
315
Margin.-1677. BY AVTHORITY OF CHARLES No. 8.-Fanam THE SECOND
OBVERSE. REVERSE.
Centre.-Two linked C's, (the monogram Centre.-The Royal Arms of England, in a of Charles the second), with 2 or 3 dots, at the shield ; viz. three lions, the Scottish lion, the sides. Irish harp, and the three fleur de lis of France. REVERSE Above the shield a crown.
Centre. The ordinary standing figure of the Margin.-KING OF GREAT BRITAINE FRANCE Indian god (Vishnu P) AND IRELAND.
James II. No. 3. Silver, Weight 1832 grains. Date No. 9.-Silver, Weight ? Date, A.D. 1687.15 A.D. 1678. Edge milled”. B. M.
OBVERSE. Similar types and legends to No. 2.
Centre.
PAX No. 4. Silver, weight 1982 grains, dated
DEO A.D. 1678. Edge plain, B.M.
Margin.-BOMBAIENSIS MONETA: 1687. Similar types and legends to No. 2.
REVERSE. No. 5. Copper (pice) weight ? A.D. (16)99 Centre.-Shield, with the arms of the East 1599.18
India Company. Above, two rosettes and two OBVERSE.
dots at the sides, in the middle two lions and Centre. MOET
two flenr de lis quartered. Below three ships BOMBAY
and three small stars. ANGLIC
Note on the Indian Exchanges. REGIME
A controversy has lately been raised as to AOD 99
the exchange value of the Rupees of the Dehli Margin.--As in the Silver coins P Traces of Mughals, as compared with the English money INCREME?
of the period-and, perhaps these quasi-English REVERSE.
coins may aid in determining the question. One Centre.-Shield, with the arms of the E. I. C. of the arguments advanced for the reduction of Above, dotted stars, in place of rosettes at the the par value of the Rapee, to less than two sides; in the middle, two fleurs de lis, and two shillings, has been based upon the returns compartments filled in with dots. Below-three given by Foreign writers, in French livres. The ships.
selection of this test, however, does not appear Margin.-Illegible traces of the letters soc: to have been fortunate, inasmuch as the ANG :
English Translator of Tavernier, in 1677,1 in No. 6. A farthing of Charles II. date 1674
his Table of Valnes, gives the Rupee of Gold as A.D. B.M.
£1-11-6, and the Rupee of Silver as two shillings OBVERSE. CAROLVSA
and three pence. In the same way, the English CAROLO
Editor of Bernier's Work" estimates the Rupee
at 29 pence, and so converts the sum of six REVERSE. REX
crores of Rupees into 7 millions of English BRITANNIA.
pounds. Harris, in 1764, in recapitulating the Re-struck with the die for the silver Rupees,
authorities collected by Ramusio, goes beyond No. 2 above.
this and fixes the Rupee at 2s.6d. Thas, in No. 7.-Lead. A.D. 1768 ? B.M. giving the totals of Aurangzeb's Revenues at Types and legends as in the Silver Rupees. 1207,18,76,840 dáms, or Rupees 30,17,96,864,
The system of milling was first introduced into the English Mint by Blondeau, in April 1662, and the first milled chilling W&s struck in 1663. Ruding, Ixxiv, 12; Hawkins, pp. 213-218.
13 Ruding, Pl. xv, No. 13, vol. V, p. 369.
1. Ruding, vol. V. p. 296; Plate vi, Suppt. figs. 16, 17; Pembroke, Pl. iv, T. 14; Leake, p. 376.
15- Ruding, Pl. xv, fig. 12.
10 The Persian Travels, London, 1677. 17 Second edition, London, 1676, vol. II, p. 164.
15 In the Appendix to vol. IV of this edition, p. 175, Bernier adds "some particulars forgotten to be inserted in my first Book," and therein defines the Rupee as "equivalent to 29 or 30 pence." Bernier himself seems to have said at p. 53, vol. III, "I have said elsewbare that a Roupie is almost equivalent to half a crowo."
