Industrialization came to India only with the advent of the British east India Company. By 16th century, European countries like Portugal, Spain, France, England, Netherland and Denmark had attained considerable naval superiority and built various factories (or had colonies) in various subcontinents. In 1613 Emperor Jahangir allowed English to establish a factory at Surat. Soon King of England James I sent an ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe to Jahangir`s court, who managed to get permission for many more factories in other parts of the country. The company slowly expanded the trade and fortune till early eighteenth century. The fall of Marathas was the key event, which opened the doors of Indian dominance for British in the mid eighteenth century.

The British tasted their first fruits of success in Bengal. In 1698 British purchased `Zamindari` (authority to collect taxes) of three villages of Govindpur, Sutanuti and Kalighatta (Calcutta) for 1200 rupees. British were considered as the actual ruler of Bengal. Soon Warren Hastings was made the governor of Bengal. He soon took control of Awadh, Mysore, Hyderabad, Karnataka, Surat, Tanjavore mostly by bribary and force. British finally took control of Delhi in 1803 and Mughal emperor Shah Alam II virtually lived as a company pensioner, thus ending the dignity of Mughal Raj completely.

There were some beautiful coins minted by the East India Company. One of the coins minted at Murshidabad was a machine struck gold coin popularly called Mohur or Muhar. This gold coin minted by East India Company (EIC) in Mughal style and used extensively till they introduced their own monetary system in 1835 AD. The British became the dominant power in India by the 1930`s, and this lead them to enact the Coinage Act of 1835 and for uniform coinage to be issued. Newly designed coins with the effigy of William IV on the obverse and the value on the reverse in English and Urdu, were issued in 1835. The coins from that time onwards were minted in Western style showing portraits of King/queen of England.

East India Company struck coins in India till 1857 when the first war of Independence broke. In 1858 AD, just after India`s first war of Independence (also called mutiny of Sepoys by historians), the property and powers of East India Company were transferred to British crown. Queen Victoria of England was declared as queen and later Empress of India.

Some of the coins minted during the reign of British monarch William IV (1835-1840 AD) and Queen Victoria (1840-1857 AD), were also minted in Proof, thus making the William`s gold coins to be one of the earliest proof gold coins of India. The double Mohur of William IV had a nice reverse, which was a symbol of Lion and a Palm tree. When Reserve Bank of India was created, they started looking for an emblem or seal design for the bank. After a lot of research, it was decided that the reverse of Double Mohur, the Lion and Palm design should be used as the emblem of RBI. The last minute modification was made introducing Tiger instead of Lion. ALL the currency notes (which are issued by RBI) of modern India has this design, which originated from William`s double Mohur.

The Raj coins or the British Raj coins were initially minted with mature portrait of Victoria, as queen, on obverse. Coins were minted in both silver (Rupees) and gold (Mohurs). Later, when she was declared as Empress of India, issuing coins in her name as Empress proclaimed it. Other British monarchs who succeeded her later appeared on the coins. The lower denomination in silver and copper (e.g. half, quarter and 1/8th of rupee etc.) with identical style were also minted. In gold, the Double Mohur coin initiated during William IV reign was discontinued and thus during Victorian era only one Mohur coin was issued. The silver coins were minted in millions in India, which were to become the mainstay of economy of entire Indian subcontinent and many neighboring countries. They are the most abudant coins of India.

India declared independence on 15th August 1947. India was partitioned into three parts. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh (former East Pakistan). India was declared as Republic in 1950. On 15th August 1950, India introduced it`s own coinage, all of which have Ashoka`s (the greatest Mauryan Emperor) Lion Capital motif (described in First coinage of India). This Lion-Capital erected by Ashoka (four-lion pillar which is shown above) gleams in polished white sandstone realistically represents the artistic achievements of Indian artists and patronage of their masters, in ancient period. This Lion-Capital, erected at Sarnath (in modern Madhya Pradesh state) has become the national emblem of modern republic of India. All the coins and currency notes of modern India have this four-lion symbol on it.

The modern Indian coinage is managed by the Government of India and not by the Reserve Bank of India. Coins are issued in denominations of Ten Paise, Twenty Five Paise, Fifty Paisa, Rupee One, Rupees Two and Rupees Five. All currency notes have emblem of Reserve Bank of India. This RBI emblem that was adapted during British rule was retained even after independence and still adorn all currency notes of modern India.

More about Modern India Coins :
The British Indian Coinage:
The Portuguese Indian Coinage:
The French Indian Coinage:
The Dutch Indian Coinage:
The Danish Indian Coinage: