India, British Colonial. George V AR One Rupee. Calcutta (Kolkata) NM, 1911C. Dies by Edgar Bertram MacKennal. GEORGE V KING EMPEROR, crowned and draped bust left, wearing chain of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire / ONE RUPEE INDIA, date between legend in English above and Urdu below, within linear circle surrounded by wreath consisting of roses, thistles, shamrock leaves and lotus flowers; all within a linear circle and toothed border. KM 523.
NGC graded MS 63.
From the collection of a North American dealer.
When first struck in 1911, the small elephant detail of the chain of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire that the king wears in the obverse portrait was thought to more closely resemble a pig than the intended quadruped, unintentionally offending the Muslim population of India. Most of the coins struck with this obverse were withheld and later melted, with a new obverse engraved for production starting in 1912, thus making this example a particularly rare survivor.