The India Government Mint, Kolkata was first established in 1757,
and was located in a building next to the
Black Hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...
in the old fort – where the GPO (General Post Office) stands today. It was called the
Calcutta Mint and used to produce coins with the mint name
Murshidabad
Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district.
During ...
.
Second mint
The second Calcutta Mint was established with the modern machinery brought in 1790 from England. It was located at the site of Gillet Ship building Establishment, which had been taken over by the Stamp and Stationary Committee in 1833. The coins issued from this mint continued to bear mint name Murshidabad.
Third mint
![Silver Mint House - 60 Strand Road - Kolkata 2016-10-11 0637](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Silver_Mint_House_-_60_Strand_Road_-_Kolkata_2016-10-11_0637.JPG)
In March 1824, the foundation of the third Calcutta Mint was laid on Strand Road and was opened for production from 1 August 1829. Until 1835, coins issued at this mint continued to be in the name of the Murshidabad Mint. The imposing frontage of the building of the third Mint was based on a design of the
Temple of Athena
The Parthenon (; grc, wikt:Παρθενών#Ancient Greek, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Greece, usually known as the
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
. The operative blocks were hidden out of view by the magnificent frontage.
This mint was named as "Old Silver Mint".
The foundation for this mint was laid March 1824, and production began 1 August 1829.
The coinage production capacity then was varying between and pieces per day. In 1860, an annexe known as the "Copper Mint" was built to the north of the Silver Mint for the exclusive production of copper coins.
![Copper pie sikka coins from the Bengal Presidency](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Copper_pie_sikka_coins_from_the_Bengal_Presidency.jpg)
The silver and copper mints both used to function and produce coins of
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
, silver and gold. Both these mints were well equipped with the coining presses supplied by Boulton and Watt of Soho, Birmingham, England.
Apart from minting of coins another important function of the Kolkata Mint was the manufacturing of medals and decorations during the British regime. The production of medals continues to this day.
After the closure of this mint in 1952 the building fell into disrepair, after years of neglect. The
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (abbreviated KMC; also Calcutta Municipal Corporation) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of . Its motto, '' ...
declared this building a heritage building. A proposal to restore this building and convert its vast spaces into a museum was put up,
and on 10 July 2008 pre-qualification bids were received from eight developers.
The project will be a public-private partnership between the Security Printing and Minting Corporation, under the finance ministry, owner of the mint, and the winning bidder.
Alipore Mint
In the late 1930s, foundation work for a new mint was completed at
Taratala
Taratala is a neighbourhood in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is located in the southern part of the city.
Location
Taratala is situated at the southern part of Kolkata, surrounded by Garden Reach (west and north-west), Behala (south and sou ...
, close to
Alipore
Alipore (Pron:ˌɑ:lɪˈpɔ:) is a neighbourhood in south Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal.
It is flanked by the Tolly Nullah to the north, Bhowanipore to the east, the Diamond Harbour Road to the west and New ...
and construction was to have completed by early 1942. However
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
brought all construction to a halt. It was completed in early 1950s.
The Alipore Mint was opened by Finance Minister of Government of India Shree
C. D. Deshmukh
Sir Chintaman Dwarakanath Deshmukh, CIE, ICS (14 January 1896 – 2 October 1982) was an Indian civil servant and the first Indian to be appointed the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India in 1943 by the British Raj authorities. He subsequent ...
on 19 March 1952.
The full operation for the coinage and preparation of medals, decorations and badges started in Alipore Mint from this date. In addition to production of coins for domestic use also produces coins for other nations.
See also
*
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use wh ...
*
Indian coinage
The Coinage of India began anywhere between early 1st millennium BCE to the 6th century BCE, and consisted mainly of copper and silver coins in its initial stage.Allan & Stern (2008) The coins of this period were ''Karshapanas'' or ''Pana''. A ...
*
India Government Mint
The India Government Mint operates four mints in the country for the production of coins:
* Mumbai, Maharashtra
* Kolkata, West Bengal
* Hyderabad, Telangana
* Noida, Uttar Pradesh
History
Under The Coinage Act, 1906, the Government of Indi ...
*
Mumbai Mint
References
External links
India Government Mint, Kolkata
{{coord, 22, 30, 56.49, N, 88, 19, 11.03, E, display=title
1757 establishments in India
1803 establishments in India
Buildings and structures in Kolkata
Mints of India
New Alipore
Numismatics