RUPEE. 



The inferiptions on the filver coins of the Eaft Indies are 

 as follow : 



The ficca rupee has the legends nearly the fame as on the 

 mohur, and may be thus tranflated : " Struck in the feven 

 climates (date of the Hegira), by the fhadow of God's fa- 

 vour, Shah Allum king, difciple in the faith of Mahomet ;" 

 and on the other fide, " Struck at (name of the place), in 

 the 19th year of the auguft and glorious reign of the em- 

 peror," &c. Some rupees do not bear the date of the 

 Hegira, but only that of the emperor's reign ; and all the 

 rupees ftruck in Bengal of late years, at the Company's 

 mint, have been dated the 19th year of his reign, as 

 above. 



The Arcot rupee has on one fide, " BlefTed coin of the 

 conquering king" (the name) ; on the other fide, " Struck 



at Arcot in the year of the reign," and the date of the 



Hegira. But it may be obferved, that in thefe and many 

 other rupees, except fuch as are coined by the Eall India 

 Company, the legends are often illegible, owing to the edge 

 being dipt or worn, or to the piece being too fmall to re- 

 ceive the impreflion. 



The rupee of the Dutch Eaft: India Company has on one 

 fide, " Coin of the company of Holland," and the date of 

 the Chriitian era 5 on the other fide, " In the great ifland 

 of Java." 



The fultany rupee of Tippoo bears the fame impreffions 

 and legends nearly as Tippoo's mohur. 



The rupee of Perfia, or piece of 10 mamoodies, has va- 

 rious legends. Some bear the fovereign's name, as " Sultan 

 Shahrokh ;" and on the other fide, " May God prolong 

 his reign, coined at" (the name of the place and date of the 

 Hegira). On other rupees, the king of Perfia ityles him- 

 felf " The fervant of the monarch," that is, of the Iman 

 Riza, the head of their religion, whom the Perfians confider 

 as the real fovereign of their empire ; and the coins are often 

 ltruck in the name of the Iman Rjza, with this legend, 

 " By the divine decree, the coin of happy omen has been 

 ftruck in the name of Ally Riza, fon of Mufa ;" and on 

 the other fide, " There is no God but God, Mahomet is 

 the apoftle of God, Ally is the favourite of God, ftruck 



at ," with the date of the Hegira. 



The filver fanam of Pondicherry bears on one fide feveral 

 flower de luces ; and on the other, various flowers, dots, 

 and lines, without any infcription. 



The larin is a filver wire about half an inch in length, 

 doubled up, and flattened on one fide to receive the impref- 

 fions of fome characters. It was firft made in Arabia, 

 and has become fcarce, but is ftill ufed as money of ac- 

 count. 



The mohur, or gold rupee, (coined under the reign of 

 the emperor Shah Allum, which began in 1770,) has on 

 one fide, " He who is the fhadow of God's favour, the 

 proteftor of the religion of Mahomet, the emperor Shah 

 Allum, coins money for the feven climates," with the date 



of the Hegira ; on the other fide, " Struck at the 



year from the happy acceffion." Some mohurs have 



only, on one fide, " Coin of the emperor Shah Allum," 

 with the date of the Hegira ; and on the other, the year of 

 the reign. The coins ftruck by the Eaft India Company 

 bear the name of the Mogul emperor ; and thofe minted of 

 late years are dated the 19th year of the emperor's reign, 

 and the number 19 is vifible on fome part of the piece. 



The mohur of Tippoo has on one fide, " The faith of 

 Mahomet, the moil excellent in this world, is fupported by 

 the fplendour of the victories of Hyder. Hyder ! exalted 

 in equity ; ftruck at Seringapatam, the year pre-eminent in 

 profperity," with the date of the Hegira. On the other 



fide, " He alone is the equitable lultan ; the epoch of the 

 acceffion was a year of happy omen," with the date of the 

 reig». Some of Tippoo's coins are dated according to an 

 Indian era, which is divided into cycles of 60 years each ; 

 of which cycles 8 1 are fuppofed to be now elapfed. 



The faruki, or quarter mohur of Tippoo, has on one 

 fide, " Mahomet, he is the only and right fultan," with 

 the date ; and on the other fide, " Faruki, ftruck at Pat- 

 tan" (Seringapatam), with the date of Tippoo's reign, 

 and a Perfian H, the initial of Hyder. 



The zodiacal rupees are pieces of twelve different impref- 

 fions, reprefenting the twelve figns of the zodiac. They 

 were coined between the years 161 6 and 1624 of the Chrif- 

 tian era, by Jehangeer, and have been long out of circula- 

 tion. They are, however, much fought after, and highly- 

 valued as objefts of curiofity. Each fign, or figure, is 

 furrounded by rays reprefenting the fun ; and on the reverfe 

 is the following infcription : " This ornamented coin in 

 Agra found its face (received its impreflion) in trie year ■ 



from the fovereign Jehangeer, fon of king Akber." 



The zodiacal rupees are exceptions to the Mahometan 

 law, which forbids the reprefentation or emboflment of 

 figures ; but it is faid that Jehangeer had little refpeft for 

 his religion ; and it is further ftated by fome writers, that 

 his favourite queen, Nur Mahal, had obtained permiffion to 

 reign for one day, (others fay for one year,) and that (he 

 caufed thefe coins to be ftruck, to perpetuate the memory 

 of her fhort reign. This account, however, cannot be 

 quite correft, as the dates of thefe rupees are different. 



We (hall here add, that, in the bufinefs of exchange, 

 London draws on Bengal in current rupees at 2s. more or 

 lefs, or in ficca rupees at 1 6 per cent, above current ; alfo 

 on Madras in pagodas at js. 6d. more or lefs ; and on Bom- 

 bay in rupees at 2s. 2d. more or lefs. 



Such bills are moftly at 60 or 90 days fight : but bills 

 from thofe places on London are generally drawn at 6, 9, 

 or 12 months fight ; in which cafe, the ficca rupee is valued 

 at 2s. 6d., the pagoda at 8/., and the Bombay rupee at 

 2s. 4<£ fterling, more or lefs. 



The bank of Bengal has been incorporated by a charter 

 for feven years, granted under the governor-general in 

 council, by virtue of the authority vefted in him by the aft 

 of the 47th of George III. fee. 2. cap. 28. 



The capital of the bank is 5,000,000 ficca rupees, that 

 is, 50 lacks. It is divided into 500 equal fhares, 100 of 

 which belong to the government, and the other 400 to in- 

 dividuals. 



The bufinefs of the bank chiefly confifts in iffuing notes, 

 keeping cafh for others, difcountiug bills, and granting 

 loans at (hort periods, for the accommodation of merchants, 

 and the general convenience of the public. 



The notes of this bank are iffued at fums not lefs than 

 10 ficca rupees, and not exceeding 30,000: they are paid 

 off in fpecie when preiented, and are therefore accepted as 

 cafh in all tranfaftions, although they have not been de- 

 clared a legal tender, except in payments to be made to 

 government at their general treafury, and other offices of 

 the prefidency ; and likewife at the provincial treafuries, 

 but under certain conditions and limitations. 



The intereft of money in India fluctuates from 8 to 12 

 per cent, per annum, and it has been even higher ; but the 

 bank, which engages not to charge above 12, has already 

 lowered the rate of intereft, and has in many other refpefts 

 rendered effential fervice to trade and commerce. We are 

 indebted for the materials of this article to the excellent 

 work of Dr. Kelly, entitled the " Univerfal Cambift." 



Rupee, Gold. See Mohur. 



7 RUPELA, 



