The Pig Rupee

King Edward VII died on May 6, 1910 and was followed to the British throne by his son, King George V, who was crowned Emperor of India on June 22, 1911. However, when he visited India , another crowning ceremony was conducted in the month of December of the same year. It is recorded that 96, 000 silver rupees were melted at the Calcutta Mint, to cast two silver thrones for use of the King and Queen Mary at the Durbar. At that time coins were minted in India , with the crowned bust of King George V on the obverse. As was then normal, the reverse of the coin had a floral design.

But in this instance, the floral design called for special attention. The floral wreath surrounding the inscriptions represented the three floral emblems of the United Kingdom, the Rose of England, the Thistle of Scotland and the Shamrock of Ireland, all surrounded by the Lotus, the floral emblem of India.

An interesting but an unfortunate story is about the so called “Pig Rupee”. In the one rupee coin the King is shown wearing a robe with a small elephant on it. In the first issue of these coins in 1911 the engraved elephant resembled a pig with a small snout instead of a trunk and the short legs appearing not very elephant -like.

Soon after the issue, the Muslim community in India took exception to the design of the tiny elephant on the mail of the royal bust. With the nightmare of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 still vivid in the minds of the British rulers, the issue of 1911 coins were promptly withdrawn from circulation. It is reported out of 9.4 million pieces of the King George V 1911 Rupee struck at both the Royal and Calcutta Mints only 700, 000 pieces were issued, the remainder and those withdrawn from circulation, were melted down. Subsequent rupee coins struck from 1912 onwards from a redesigned obverse die, showed the elephant with proportionate trunk and legs!

Today, among the collectors of old coins, the pig Indian rupee is a much sought after coin, as it fetches a premium in the auctions?

One rupee obverse 1911. (pig rupee variety)

One rupee obverse 1918 with the revised elephant design

Detail of the pig elephant design.

Detail of the redesigned elephant design

Text D. Chakravarty, Coins of India, courtesy Madras Musings Vol XXI No, 17 and illustration from the Internet.

Rajaputhran.