India 1943-L rupee
This specimen was lot 1057 in Sedwick Treasure Auction 28 (Winter Park, FL, November 2020), where it sold for $3,720. The catalog description[1] noted, "Lahore, India (British), silver original proof 1/4 rupee, George VI, 1943-L, very rare, PCGS PR64, finest and only example in PCGS census. Choice rainbow toning over luster, mostly blue-purple in centers and reddish-gold near rims, no marks or wear except for the slightest contract friction on a couple high points, first date of type and only the third specimen known (the other two graded PF 62 and PF 64 by NGC), unlisted in KM and even unlisted in the Stevens-Weir reference but with new number assigned by them already for a later edition. The small but critical L mintmark appears properly at the bottom the reverse. Lahore is in modern-day Pakistan, which became an independent country in 1947 upon partition of British India. With original His Majesty's Mint paper envelope." The Lahore mint struck coins for the Raj 1943-45 only. In 1947, it was incorporated into Pakistan, so it never struck coins for independent India. This date is missing from the SCWC, which records only Bombay for 1943.
Reported Mintage: unknown.
Specification: 11.66 g, 0.500 fine silver, 30.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: SW-9.91a; KM-557.1.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th 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]Sedwick, Daniel Frank, Augi Garcia and Cori Sedwick Downing, Treasure Auction 28, featuring the Dr. Peter Jones and John O'Brien collections, Winter Park, FL: Daniel Frank Sedwick LLC, 2020.
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