India Government Mint, Hyderabad is one of the four

mints A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach given their association with natural byproducts ...

in India. Based in

Cherlapally Cherlapally is a neighbourhood of Hyderabad in the Indian state of Telangana. As per the delimitation of election wards by the GHMC, it falls under ward no. 3 of Kapra circle & Kapra Mandal in the East zone. Cherlapally is home to a vast variety ...

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

( twin city of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

) in the Indian state of

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

, the mint was originally established in 1803 AD as the ''Royal Mint'' to serve as the mint for the

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

. The mint was founded by

Mir Akbar Ali Khan Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III Nawab Mir Akbar Ali Khan Siddiqi Bahadur, Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III (11 November 1768 – 21 May 1829), was the 3rd Nizam/Ruler of Hyderabad, India from 1803 to 1829. He was born in Chowmahalla Palace in the Khilwath, the second son of Asaf Jah ...

and was originally situated at Sultan Sahi in Moghalpura suburb of

city. In 1950, the mint was taken over by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, and in 1997 it was shifted to its present location at

. Indian 1, 2, 5 and 10 rupee coins are produced in this mint.

History

Till early 19th century, mints were privately operated by wealthy businessmen (

Sahu Sahu (Sahoo, or Shaw, or Shau, or Gupta, or Saha, or Saw, Shah). is a surname found in India and Pakistan. The meaning of the term "Sahu" may change from region to region.''. Usage In India, the surname is found among Gakhars, Marwadi, Janjuas, ...

s, Jagirdars and Omaras) in India. Licenses for minting coins were obtained by paying fees to the

exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reven ...

. The mints used to produce coins with the name of Emperor in Delhi. ''FIDVI'', ''QITAAB'' (title) and lettering "Yar-E-Wafadar" (trusted follower) were added to the coins.

1803–1858

India Government Mint, Hyderabad was established in 1803 AD by

as a private mint and along with other private mints in the country. The mint produced Indian coins in the name of

Emperor of India Emperor or Empress of India was a title used by British monarchs from 1 May 1876 (with the Royal Titles Act 1876) to 22 June 1948, that was used to signify their rule over British India, as its imperial head of state. Royal Proclamation of 22 ...

. Initially the mint was situated at Sultan Sahi in Moghalpura suburb of the Hyderabad city. The dies were made of steel but the private mints did not have a master die. The dies hence differed in size, production of coins was crude with only partial inscription appearing on coins frequently.

1858–1903

With the end of the Mughal empire in 1858 AD, all private mints (except Hyderabad,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

and

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

) were abolished. Coins produced thereafter ceased to carry the name of ''Emperor of India''. Instead, coins produced in the ''Hyderabad Royal Mint'' were inscribed with name of the dynasty, initials of

and the numeral 92 (of

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

religious significance; represents sum of symbolic numbers of the letters in

Prophets and messengers in Islam Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets a ...

). These coins were called ''Halli Sicca'' coins (current coins). In 1985 AD, use of machinery was introduced in coin making and the machine made coins were called "Charkhi coins" (Charkhi means "wheel" in Hindi).

1903–1950

On 13 July 1903, a new mint was established in

Saifabad Saifabad is one of the major suburbs in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The Ravindra Bharathi auditorium is located here. Transport TSRTC Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (abbreviated as TSRTC) is a state-owned corporation that ...

, Hyderabad and the operations were shifted to the new location. In 1950, post "Federal Financial Integration", the mint was over-taken by the

1950–1997

The Hyderabad mint operated in Saifabad from 1950 to 1997. On 20 August 1997, the mint was shifted to its present location at

in the city of Secunderabad, India. The facility was established with annual production capacity of 700 million coins and 950 million

planchet A planchet is a round metal disk that is ready to be struck as a coin. An older word for planchet is flan. They are also referred to as blanks. History The preparation of the flan or planchet has varied over the years. In ancient times, the f ...

1997 – present

India Government Mint in Hyderabad has been operating at the same location since 1997. As a result of the

corporatisation Corporatization is the process of transforming and restructuring state assets, government agencies, public organizations, or municipal organizations into corporations. It involves the adoption and application of business management practices and ...

, from 13 January 2006 the mint is functioning as one of the units of the

Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Limited The Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd. (SPMCIL) is a company under the Department of Economic Affairs, a department under Ministry of Finance. It is responsible for conducting printing and minting activities of the Government ...

(SPMCIL).

Organization

Since 13 January 2006, the India Government Mint, Hyderabad functions as one of the units of the "Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Limited". The mint is headed by a "general manager".

Mint mark

Coins minted at the India Government Mint, Hyderabad carries the

mint mark A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. It should not be confused with a mintmaster mark which is the mark of the mintmaster. History Mint marks were first developed to locate ...

of a ''five-pointed star'' (*), symbolising that the coin was produced in the Hyderabad mint.

Production

The India Government Mint in Hyderabad was planned with an estimated annual production capacity of annual production capacity of 700 million coins and 950 million

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 ...

coins (1, 2, 5 & 10) are produced in this mint.

References

{{Indian currency 1803 establishments in India Mints of India Numismatics Organisations based in Telangana