Indian Mints and Websites
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Indian Mints and RBI Websites |
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Official Website |
IndiaGovtMint.in, is the official
website of Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd, where
you can order online from all the mints. |
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Mumbai Mint – Counter Sale |
India Government Mint, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Fort, Mumbai 400001 |
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Kolkata Mint – Counter Sale |
India Government Mint, Alipore, Kolkata 700053 |
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Hyderabad Mint – Counter Sale |
India Government Mint, IDA, Phase-II, Cherapally, (R.R district), Hyderabad 500051 |
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New Delhi – Counter Sale |
SPMCIL, 1st Floor, Jawahar Vyapar Bhavan, Janpath, New Delhi 110001 |
Mumbai Mint is one of the oldest mints of India. The history of Mumbai mint dates back to the last quarter of the seventeenth century. It’s evolution over the centuries is identical to that of the rupee. The development of coins, from manufacturing the coins in a small place by means of hammer and anvil initially, to manufacturing by automatic machines, includes many interesting stories, for instance, in olden days the weight of the coins was decided in terms of grains. The first mint at Mumbai was set up by Governor Aungier for coinage of rupees, pies and bajruks. The first Mumbai Mint rupee was coined in the year 1672. Present Mumbai Mint was constructed between the years 1824 and 1829 by Capt. John Hawkins of Bombay Engineers. Apart from having coin blanks manufacturing facility, this unit produces circulating coins and also commemorative coins which are issued to celebrate special occasions/events or as a mark of respect towards distinguished individuals or monuments. During the Gold Control Act, Mumbai Mint was the only authorized mint to process the gold in any form other than jewelry. With the setting up of the new Aqua Regia Gold Refining plant, this Mint has the facility to process gold up to a fineness of 999.9. This Mint has been manufacturing & supplying Reference, Secondary and Working Standards of Weights and Secondary and Working Standards of Capacity and Length Measures as per Legal Metrology Act, 2009. These standards are manufactured against accurate standards authenticated, calibrated and approved by NPL, New Delhi. Each of these standards play a vital role in the work of the State Governments by ensuring that the weights and measures used in the trade and commerce are of the required accuracy.
Calcutta Mint's History starts with the treaty of the East India Company with Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula, dated 7th February 1757. The earliest rupee from the Calcutta Mint was issued on the pattern of the Mughal Coins with Persian inscriptions. The site of the first Mint of Calcutta is not known. The second Calcutta Mint was established in 1792. The construction of the third Mint at Strand Road was planned in 1819 and it was opened for coinage on 1st August 1829 and was known as Silver Mint though gold coins had also been stuck there. In 1860 an annexe known as the “Copper Mint” intended exclusively for copper coinage was built to the north of the Silver Mint. Meanwhile, the need was felt by the Government of India as early as 1940 and plans were laid to set up a new high capacity Mint in Alipore and Calcutta Mint was shifted to Alipore, where construction work was started in 1941. For Alipore Mint, 26 acres of land had been taken over by the Government from the Port Commissioner of Calcutta in 1941. It had started with a coinage production capacity of about 12 Lakh pieces per eight hours shift. This Mint played a glorious role in India’s Coinage by minting gold, silver, nickel, copper, cupro-nickel, nickel-brass and bronze coins. Apart from this, Medals, decorations, Commemorative pieces, delicate works by skilled workmanship are done for Government Departments, educational institutions, noble families, the list is virtually endless. It has produced coins for Australia, Great Britain, Egypt, Portuguese India, Saudi Arabia, Bhutan and Pakistan and coins for Ceylon, Straits Government or straits settlements and the Imperial British East Africa Company, Mombasa.
Hyderabad Mint was originally established in 1803 as the Royal Mint to serve as the mint for the Nizam of Hyderabad. In 1950, the mint was taken over by the Government of India. A new Mint was inaugurated on 28th August 1997 at Cherlapally where the Mint at Saifabad was completely shifted on 1st November 2001 and it started operation fully. The Mint is one of the prestigious organizations in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. This gigantic task was successfully completed under the supervision of the Central Public Works Department and the consultancy from MECON. The campus is spread over an area of 80 acres of land. Apart from the high security-minting complex, it has residential complex for essential staff (nearly 100 quarters) with well-supported infrastructure. The factory and colony are nearly self-dependent for all basic needs. This Mint is equipped with modern machinery supplied by world’s leading manufacturers of coining machines. It is engaged in end-to-end processes for coin production i.e. blanking, annealing, pickling & polishing and stamping. Apart from manufacturing circulation coins, this mint is also engaged in manufacturing of commemorative coins, medals/medallions and melting & refining of Silver with state-of-theart modern facilities. This Mint also has its own Assay and R&D Laboratory.
Noida Mint is the only Mint established in the post-Independence era. This is the fourth Mint in the country. In order to fill the gap between demand and supply of coins in the country, Government of India decided in the year 1984 to establish a new mint project at Noida. This Mint started regular production from 1988. It was the first mint in the country to produce stainless steel coins. The project was started by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs in January 1986 with an estimated budget of `30 Crore. Construction of the Mint was undertaken by National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) and Metallurgical and Engineering Consultants (MECON) were the engineering consultants. The project was completed within the given time frame and dedicated to the nation on 1st July 1988. After corporatization, the Mint is functioning as one of the Units of SPMCIL. It has facilities for conversion of blanks into coins.
All the Mints apart from Noida Mint has a Counter Sale where you can visit and make the purchase. On January 2020, SPMCIL opened the Counter Sale at their Corporate Office in New Delhi as well.
Note: The Commemorative Proof and UNC coins are booked at India Government Mints and not from Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
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