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| Old Mint,Kolkata, WB en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: The Old Silver Mint house at 60 Strand road, Kolkata, now occupied by the CRPF.
Above image: . The East India Company established the first Calcutta Mint (Government of India Mint, Kolkata) in 1757 after a treaty with the Mogul ruler and his resident governor in Bengal. East India company, first silver mint, Calcutta (Kolkata) designed by Major Forbes between 1824 and 1831. Greek revival architecture style. The East India company after opening its trade post in Calcutta (Kolkata) with legal permit from the Mogul ruler prospered well over a short period of time in mercantile trade in the mid 1700s.The minting work is a strenuous one and requires machines such as the steam engines, coining and cutting presses, draw bench, melting furnaces etc., besides steady supply of metals, be they copper, silver or gold. Most importantly safety and security factors ought to be taken care of seriously. ............
Calcutta (now Kolkata) was the commercial heart of the East India Company, and its rise as a financial center naturally led to the establishment of a mint. Though the Company had mints at Bombay and Madras, Calcutta became the first and most important due to Bengal’s rich trade and the Company’s political dominance in the region.
The first Calcutta Mint was set up in 1757, immediately after the Company secured its trading privileges from the Nawab and the Mughals. In the early years, coins bore the name of the Murshidabad Mint and were issued under the authority of the Nawab of Bengal. The Company was not yet a full sovereign power and could not legally strike coins under its own name. These coins—mostly silver—followed Mughal standards: the Bengal Sicca rupee, 0.98 fine silver, weighing 179 2/3 grains, divided into 16 annas and 12 pice per anna.
The Treaty of Allahabad (1765), following the Company’s victory in the Battle of Buxar, changed everything. With the Diwani rights secured from Emperor Shah Alam II, Calcutta’s coins could now be officially issued under East India Company authority. Mint output increased dramatically. Yet, confusion prevailed because coins struck at Calcutta closely resembled those of Murshidabad. Until the Murshidabad mint finally closed in 1777, distinguishing the two was difficult.
To handle huge quantities of bullion in circulation, the Company briefly opened auxiliary mints at Patna, Dacca and Murshidabad, but these were closed by 1799 once the conversion of old currency was completed. A major reform in 1790–1795 modernised coinage: coins bore the mint name “A’linagar Kalkatta” and later simply “Kalkutta.” The use of the imperial julus date, which marked regnal years of the Mughal emperor, was abolished by 1771.
By the early 19th century, Bengal’s commercial growth demanded a massive expansion. The Company planned a state-of-the-art mint capable of producing 200,000 rupees per day. Steam-powered machinery was ordered from Birmingham, transported around the Cape, and finally installed near the Hooghly river. The great mint building—often called the Gillet Shipyard Mint—was designed by Major Forbes in striking Greek Revival style. Though machinery arrived in 1823, full production began in 1830, and by 1835 the mint was striking gold, silver, and copper bearing the head of King William IV—a major break from earlier Persian-inscribed designs.
Calcutta Mint had a surprising global role. During World War I, it produced bronze penny and half-penny coins for Australia. When the Royal Mint in Melbourne began striking its own coins in 1919, it used dies supplied from Calcutta. Some 1920 Australian pennies may still carry impressions from Calcutta dies.
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| British India, William IV (1834-18).vcoins.com/ |
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| 1840 Queen Victoria. EIC, one quarter rupee coin. india coin.wordpress.com | |
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1840 Queen Victoria.EIC one quarter rupee coin. india coin.wordpress.com
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The
Alipore Mint, a vast modern facility, was sanctioned in the 1930s, though construction stalled during World War II. It was finally completed in the early 1950s and remains operational today as one of India’s major government mints, producing circulation coins, medals, and commemorative issues. The old mint buildings in central Kolkata, long abandoned, survive as historic structures; conservation plans for adaptive reuse have been discussed in recent years, particularly for turning them into a museum and heritage precinct.
