The Puddester Collection

The Uniform Coinage of India, British Imperial Period, George VI, original silver Proof Rupee, 1938 [1938-9], type A/I [Prid. type I], Calcutta, crowned bust left in high relief, long trefoils in crown, george vi king emperor, normal rim, rev. one rupee india and date, yek rupiya surrounded by ornate scroll containing rose, thistle and shamrock, lotus flowers above and below, no bead below lower rounded lotus, narrow border decoration, edge grained, 11.64g/12h (Prid. 231 [Sale, lot 270]; SW 9.7; KM. 554). Trifling surface marks in obverse field, otherwise brilliant and virtually as struck, extremely rare as an original Proof; no other originals noted by the cataloguer on the market in recent years
£1,500-£2,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Puddester Collection.

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Collection

Sir John Wheeler Collection, Baldwin Auction 22 (London), 2 May 2000, lot 263 [from A.P. de Clermont (London) December 1997].

Owner’s ticket and envelope.



The first George VI rupees produced in India utilised a rejected model of the king’s crowned head in high relief, suitable only for striking proofs and patterns. A new model was supplied in 1939 and matrices and punches produced from it were paired with already extant reverse dies dated 1938 and 1939. Minting, exclusively at Bombay for currency purposes, commenced in January 1940, the heavy demand caused by the outbreak of War