Indian coins to bear ‘75th year of independence’ text on top

In a notification on November 8, the Ministry of Finance said that coins of all denominations would have the text ‘75th year of independence’ in English written on the top periphery. The face of the coin would also have the official logo of ‘azaadi ka amrut mahotsav’ at the centre of the coin.

The obverse sides of the Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20 coins will continue to also bear the Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar with the legend ‘satyamev jayate’ inscribed below, and flanked by the words Bharat in Hindi and India in English. The year of minting in international numerals shall be shown on the centre of the left periphery of the coin in the reverse side.

All the coins will have the rupee symbol along with the denominational value mentioned in the reverse side.

“The coins of One Rupee, Two Rupees, Five Rupees, Ten Rupees and Twenty Rupees shall be coined at the Mint for issue under the authority of the Central Government,” the ministry stated. The Coinage of One Rupee, Two Rupees, Five Rupees, Ten Rupees and Twenty Rupees Rules, 2021 will come to force with the publication of the official gazette.

The Re 1 coin is circular in shape and measures 20 mm in diameter, while the circular Rs 2 coin in 23 mm in diameter. The circular Rs 5 coin is 25 mm in diameter, and the Rs 10 coin is circular and 27 mm in diameter. The Rs 20 coin, however, is a 12-edged polygon with a diameter of 27 mm.

The Centre announced the new Rs 20 coin in March, 2019, almost 10 years after the issue of the Rs 10 coin.

The Government of India has the sole right to mint coins and the responsibility for coinage vests with the Government, according to the Coinage Act, 1906. The designing and minting of coins in various denominations is also the responsibility of the Government.

Coins are minted at the four India Government Mints at Mumbai, Alipore (Kolkata), Saifabad (Hyderabad), Cherlapally (Hyderabad) and Noida (UP).

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