The India Government Mint, Kolkata was first established in 1757, and was located in a building next to the

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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 (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...

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

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 in

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, Greece, usually known as the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...

. 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

Copper pie sikka coins from the Bengal Presidency

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 metalloid ...

, 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 (KMC) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the List of Indian state and union territory capitals, 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, close to

Alipore Alipore is a neighbourhood of Kolkata, South Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is flanked by the Tolly Nullah to the north, Bhowanipore to the east, the Diamond Harbour R ...

and construction was to have completed by early 1942. However

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 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. Alipore Mint has merged as cooperation and not a totally Government controlling body since 2008. It is a semi government and semi private sector organization at present.

Alipore Mint Colony

Alipore Mint Colony is located in few minutes distance from Alipore Mint. It is a closed boundary government protected area. It has a huge land for the residence and relaxation for all the employees of India Government Mint. The employees are facilitated High end Central Government Security, 24hrs water supply, cooperative store and other all such facility. Ample amount of space of ground for sports and play ground is provided for enjoyment and relaxation and entertainment. Apart from that inside the closed premises, Central Government School is provided for children education till 10+2 standard. Medical facilities are also provide by the Central Government Health Scheme authority.

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