OCT.— DEC. 1856.] 



Notes on Indian Currencies. 



53 



called also Quenow Rupee, because intended to be equivalent to 

 that of the Oude Government, and struck both at Ferruckabad and 

 Delhi, but the Delhi Mint was never employed to any great extent. 

 For a long time back, the Calcutta Sicca Rupee had circulated in 

 Bengal, Behar, and Orissa — the Benares Rupee was confined 

 to the province of Benares, and the Ferruckabad Rupee to all 

 ceded and conquered districts, except Cuttack and the acquisiti- 

 ons east of Bengal, into which the Calcutta Rupee had been in- 

 troduced. It was also stated that the standard of the Calcutta 

 Sicca Rupee and Ferruckabad Rupees was the same, being T l ¥ alloy 

 — the former weighing 192 grains with 176 grains pure silver, the 

 latter weighing 180 grains with 165 grains pure silver, omitting 

 fractions — and that at Madras and Bombay the rupee was similar 

 to the Ferruckabad— and that there was a mint at Saugor estab- 

 lished for the temporary purpose of converting local currencies in- 

 to Ferruckabad Rupees. It was likewise stated that a copper coin 

 passes through the Bengal territories at the rate of 64 to a Rupee, 

 but is legal tender only for the fractional parts of that coin — and 

 that because the market value of gold relatively to silver was great- 

 er than the mint value, therefore gold had ceased to circulate. Also 

 that the Bengal gold mohur weighs 204-710 grains of which 187.651 

 is fine gold — and that the Madras gold Rupee is of the same weight 

 and standard as the silver, viz. 180 grains — and that at both Presi- 

 dencies the relative value of gold to silver is 15 to 1 — and that there 

 were three mints at Bombay, one at the Presidency, one at Trivat 

 and one at Broach, and that Madras had one mint. 



In 1818, the Bengal Government added to the 



1818 AD 



weight of the Rupee, leaving the quantity of silver 

 the same and increasing the weight by alloy, the reason given was 

 that the Rupee being much purer than other coins, and more espe- 

 cially than the Spanish Dollar of which the import into Calcutta 

 was large, a considerable expense was incurred in refining, and some 

 delay occasioned. 



In 1819, the currency was changed in Madras from Pagodas to 

 Rupees, in which former coin all accounts had previously been 

 kept, and the Rupee was rated in the accounts rendered to Parlia- 



