India 1885-C 1/2 rupee
This specimen was lot 2628 in Stephen Album sale 50 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $450. The catalog description[1] noted, "BRITISH INDIA: Victoria, Empress, 1876-1901, AR 1/2 rupee, 1885-C, cleaned, AU." This type was issued at Calcutta and Bombay 1877-1901 in a bewildering array of varieties, including proofs, off-metal strikes and restrikes. The type is not rare but is infrequently seen compared to the silver rupee. It is distinguished from the type issued 1862-76 by the obverse legend, "VICTORIA EMPRESS" instead of "VICTORIA QUEEN." For 1885, the Bombay product comes with an raised "B" mintmark in the flower above "HALF" and Calcutta is marked with an incuse "C". The mintmarks (or lack of them) varied from year to year.
Recorded mintage: 1,408,000 plus 390,000 from Bombay; a scarce date.
Specification: 5.83 g, 0.917 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-492.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Stevens, Paul, and Randy Weir, The Uniform Coinage of India, 1835 to 1947, A Catalogue and Pricelist, London, Spink & Son Ltd, 2012.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 50, featuring selections from the Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection, the Hakim Hamidi Collection, the Almer H. Orr III Collection and the Solar Collection, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
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