The word rupee is an English version of the Hindi word for a silver coin, rupya. The rupee has been the standard coinage of India since it became part of the Mughal Empire in the sixteenth century. The eighteenth century saw the collapse of Mughal power, resulting in a variety of coin standards and rupees issued by several regional rulers.

This silver rupee was minted for the English East India Company in 1840. The Company had had growing trade interests in India since the 1600s, when it was given a British monopoly to trade in spices from the region. It began issuing its own coins in India in the 1640s, and from about 1750 was producing silver rupees. In the late eighteenth century coins struck in Britain were introduced in India. In 1835 the construction of the new Mint at Calcutta meant that all of British India could be supplied with a uniform coinage of British design, with the rupee as the principal silver coin.The British monarch's head remained on the rupee until Indian independence in 1947

Divided Legend Type Metal Silver .917 Weight 11.64 g Diameter 32 mm Engraver William Wyon (obverse)