THE SUPPLY OF MONEY 307 



The rupee currency of India at the beginning of the 

 nineteenth century is estimated by Mr. F. J. Atkinson 

 at Rx. 90,000,000. This, of course, is confessedly only 

 a rough guess from the very imperfect data available ; 

 but in the absence of more trustworthy statistics , it 

 may be provisionally accepted as a starting-point. 

 Between 1800 and 1835 Rx. 65,250,000 were coined. 

 From that year onward the figures for the amount of 

 silver imported and the number of rupees coined are 

 accurately recorded. The table on pp. 308, 309, is ex- 

 tracted from Mr. Atkinson's valuable paper printed in 

 the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, March, 1897. 

 In columns 2, 3, 4, and 5 will be found the official 

 figures for the imports and coinage of silver between 

 1835 and 1895. Columns 6 and 7 contain the figures 

 relating to the issue of paper money without a coin 

 reserve ; these notes are, therefore, additions to the 

 currency, and constitute a part of the amount of money 

 in circulation. Column 10 is given by Mr. Fred J. 

 Atkinson as an approximation only to the truth, and 

 it must be accepted with reserve as a conjecture. It 

 shows ' the gradual decrease in the circulation of the 

 coinage coined before 1835, which ceased to be legal 

 tender in 1877. Of this coinage about 23 crores is 

 recorded as having been tendered to the mints for re- 

 coinage between 1835 and 1876, and, remembering 

 that the coinage between 1800 and 1835 amounted to 

 65^ crores, it is a fair assumption that the circulation, 

 including the cash balance in the Government 

 treasuries, was 37 crores in the beginning of 1835, of 

 which 23 crores was recoined, and the balance of 

 14 crores otherwise absorbed, probably mainly in 

 ornaments, during the forty-one years it remained 

 legal tender.' Column 12 represents an estimate of 

 the actual circulation, after making allowance for 

 wear and tear, and the quantity annually withdrawn 

 from circulation for ornaments, etc. This, of course, 

 is highly conjectural, and is given here with reserve. 



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