Thread: East India Company coins

I bought two coins from a roadside peddler and need some identification/pricing info for them.

(1) Coin one says 1616 East India Company - half anna coin seems to be made of copper and has the images of Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman on reverse. I did some research on Google and found that such a coin exists but is considered rare.
(2) Coin two says 1717 East India Company - also half anna copper coin and has the image of only Hanuman on reverse. I could find no information about such a coin.

If someone wants to look at images, I can mail them to you. I can't check this forum often - please email me at bpalle@rediffmail.com.

Thanks for your help

Originally Posted by bpalle

I bought two coins from a roadside peddler
(1) Coin one says 1616 East India Company
(2) Coin two says 1717 East India Company

The denomination side of both coins has a distinct 19th Century look and feel, but the other sides don't resemble anything found in the India sections of the 17th, 18th or 19th Century Krause volumes, and there is nothing like either coin referred to at this historical look at East India Company coinage.

I can't find the denomination "Anna" in Krause for any date earlier than AH1177 (1863), and the word does not appear in the 17th Century volume's index to denominations.

From this UCLA historical discussion it seems that the dates on both pieces are long prior to the time the East India Company could have had the authority to issue coinage.

I could be wrong, but IMHO they are fantasy pieces of indeterminate age.

Their source certainly doesn't give me any reason to doubt that conclusion.

They're old, probably dug, but in my opinion they are not 400 years old. They look suspicious to me.

They are 100 years apart, but have almost identical style lettering. Also, they are too round and too well minted for a 400 year old coin.

Just my opinion.

Originally Posted by bpalle

I bought two coins from a roadside peddler and need some identification/pricing info for them.

(1) Coin one says 1616 East India Company - half anna coin seems to be made of copper and has the images of Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman on reverse. I did some research on Google and found that such a coin exists but is considered rare.
(2) Coin two says 1717 East India Company - also half anna copper coin and has the image of only Hanuman on reverse. I could find no information about such a coin.

If someone wants to look at images, I can mail them to you. I can't check this forum often - please email me at bpalle@rediffmail.com.

Thanks for your help

I have the same coin 1616 and a 1818, but nearly mint condition
I bought them like you in 1999 in i think Mysore
I guess they are for turist or somthing like that

the lettering is too similar as jbk says, thats my first suspicion, next is the tarnish this coin looks to me to have been artificially aged, with that kind of tarnish i would think there would be more pitting of the surface of the coin.

to me these coins look artficially aged both have the same type of wear though there being a time diffrence.
if you only hd one of them then to me would be much harder to distiqued there pedegree but as you have both there no doubt about it tourist rip off fakers.

DEAR COIN COLLECTORS,
BEWARE OF FORGERIES OF FICTITIOUS EAST INDIA COMPANY COINS WITH DATES OF 1616 ,1816,ETC WITH IMAGES OF INDIAN MONKEY GOD HANUMAN, RAMA & LAKSHMANAN ETC WITH GREENISH OLD LIKE PATINA AND OLD WORN OUT LOOK. I AM A COLLECTOR FROM CHENNAI, INDIA AND I WAS SHOCKED TO FIND A DEALER SELLING IN THE INTERNET ALL THESE FORGERIES FOR $15 TO $20 A PIECE.
THESE FORGERIES ARE SOLD TO UNSUSPECTING NOVICES AND TOURISTS AT INDIAN ROAD SHOPS, COIN DEALERS FOR RS 20( 40 CENTS) to RS 50 A PIECE($1) . NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE GREENISH PATINA HAS BEEN CREATED BY CHEMICALS!!!. I WARNED SOME DEALERS THAT THE WRATH OF GOD WILL BE UPON THEM FOR CHEATING PEOPLE BUT THEY SMILED!!!
FROM A COIN COLLECTOR

Thanks for the first-hand reply.

The joke is, I would buy these for 40 cents as a keepsake, for reference, etc. If they just said they were fake I would still buy it.

Anyway, I hate to see people get ripped off. The thing is, people need to develop experience. I was suspicious of these the moment I saw them.

I have a East india company coper coin in 1818 half anna with ramsita. Can any one let me know the value of it ?

Amit_cpl,it isn't a coin,but a fake token.

Aidan.

Thanks for reply.

Then why every one is running for coper irridium coin . And most of the irridium coin is from 1818 . I'm really confuse .

Modern fantasy coins, sold to tourists. Get out Krause's unusual world and you will find some similar stuff. The East India Company was a very minor operation in 1616 anyway !

amit_cpl........ do mail me

hai frnds,


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