Summary

1/2 Pice, Issued by Bombay Presidency, Southern Concan, India, 1821
Minted Under contract with Sootoophou Din of Southern Concan

Obverse Description

Balemark of British East India Company; below, 1821

Reverse Description

A pair of balanced scales; between pans the value and date in Hindi and Devanagari script

Edge Description

Plain

Significance

The East India Company Collector for Southern Conca, Mr. Pelly, received permission from the Bombay Government to undertake a copper coinage in July 1820. He put the issue out to tender and awarded it to Mr. Sootoophouy Din who provided specemin strikings which were forwarded to Bombay on 20 September 1820. The Bombay Mint Committee approved the issue on 28 November 1820 and the first of the coinsd were ready for issue on 5 May 1821. Pridmore recorded two dates, 1820 and 1821 but believed that the former only occured on specimens, not on working strikes. Three denominations were struck, 1/2 Pice (this coin is an example), Pice and 2 Pice.

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