One Rupee, George V

Two sides of one coin. On the left, George V in profile, crowned and robed, with GEORGE V KING EMPEROR around the rim. On the right, ONE RUPEE INDIA 1918 inside a wreath of roses, thistle, shamrock and lotus. It is struck in silver of 91.7 per cent, the standard for the rupee until the early 1940s. A small mark on the reverse shows it came from the Bombay Mint.

The first rupees of George V, struck in 1911, showed him wearing the chain of the Order of the Indian Empire, which includes an elephant. Engraved small, the elephant looked like a pig. Muslim users objected, and the effigy was quickly altered. The 1911 coins are still called pig rupees.

This 1918 piece comes after the change. The portrait is by Bertram Mackennal, used across the Empire, with the Indian order on the robe in place of the Garter collar used elsewhere.