Coins of India

Although India became independent on 15 August 1947, British coins and notes were used in India until it became a democratic republic on 26 January 1950. India's own coins and notes were first issued in 1950. Coins that closely resembled those of British India were also first minted in independent India. The value and weight of the coins were the same, as was the metal used to make them. On one side of the coin, the Ashoka Pillar was engraved with the words Government of India around it. On the other side of the one rupee , half rupee and quarter rupee coins, two ears of wheat were depicted on both sides to indicate the value of the coin. In 1957 , the monetary system in India was reformed to the decimal system. The Indian Currency (Amendment) Act, introduced in 1955 , came into force on 1 April 1957. Thus, one rupee was divided into 100 paise. Coins of one, two, five and ten paise were introduced. Later, coins of 25 and 50 paise were also released. Current circulating coins in India are issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in denominations of 50 paise, ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, ₹10, and ₹20.