St. James's Auctions
Auction 66 22 Sep 2022
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India, cupro-nickel pattern set, 1949, comprised of silver rupee; half rupee; quarter rupee; two annas (3); anna; piece, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, lion capitol of Asoka, revs. man winnowing wheat; type II, worker pouring metal in foundry, building behind; miner with pick inside mine; type I, peacock; peacock without stars; peacock in full plumage; water buffalo; two sheaves of wheat respectively, all certified and graded by NGC as Proof 66+, Proof 64+, Proof 66, Proof 65, Proof 65, Proof 64, Proof 65, Proof 64 Red Brown respectively (8)
A similar set (except with two different half rupees, this has only one, but only one peacock standing two annas) sold in A. H. Baldwin & Son, Auction 71, September 2011, lot 1609, for £52,000. The Numismatic Circular of 1954 recalls only four of these pattern sets being struck. These designs are far superior to those which were eventually used in India but this is one of the great joys of patterns – the what could have been of these coins.
No coins were struck with the intention of circulation dated 1948 or 1949. There was a necessity for a distinct new series of designs as a result of partition and Independence. The coins that were originally created for India were struck in 1949, but new designs took over from 1950. It is thought that each of the 1949 designs were rejected for various reasons, for example the bird of paradise was rejected as it was more often linked to Burma, while the water buffalo was native to Pakistan. This lead to a new coinage design and the previous designs were cast aside.
(40000-50000 GBP)
A similar set (except with two different half rupees, this has only one, but only one peacock standing two annas) sold in A. H. Baldwin & Son, Auction 71, September 2011, lot 1609, for £52,000. The Numismatic Circular of 1954 recalls only four of these pattern sets being struck. These designs are far superior to those which were eventually used in India but this is one of the great joys of patterns – the what could have been of these coins.
No coins were struck with the intention of circulation dated 1948 or 1949. There was a necessity for a distinct new series of designs as a result of partition and Independence. The coins that were originally created for India were struck in 1949, but new designs took over from 1950. It is thought that each of the 1949 designs were rejected for various reasons, for example the bird of paradise was rejected as it was more often linked to Burma, while the water buffalo was native to Pakistan. This lead to a new coinage design and the previous designs were cast aside.
(40000-50000 GBP)