Explained: Is the 1996 Subhas Chandra Bose Coin an Error?

In 1997, two different years 1996 and 1997 were used to commemorate the Birth Centenary of Subhas Chandra Bose on coins.

Initially, the Ministry of Finance issued a gazette notification on January 17, 1997, authorizing the release of a commemorative coin series with denominations of ₹100, ₹50, ₹10, and ₹2, all bearing the year 1996. Among these, only the ₹2 coin was intended for circulation, while the others were designated for collector sets. However, the ₹2 coin was the only one that entered limited circulation, making it a rare and sought-after find among collectors.  

Later, the government recognized that the commemorative year should be 1997, not 1996, and issued a fresh gazette notification on February 17, 1997. This corrected the year on all coins to 1997. Following this, ₹2 coins dated 1997 were circulated, and the corrected collector sets were released.

This incident is significant in the history of Republic India coinage as it marked the first instance of corrective action being taken at the last moment, leading to the issuance of coins with revised details.  

Many numismatists consider the ₹2 coin dated 1996 to be an error, assuming the 1997-dated coins were the intended release. However, this interpretation is not entirely accurate. The 1996 coins were properly gazetted, and no correction was made to the original notification. Instead, a fresh notification was issued for the 1997-dated coins. It is likely that all denominations dated 1996 were minted, at least for inaugural sets, before being scrapped or retained by the Kolkata Mint. If the 1996 coins were not minted, the ₹2 coin should not have entered circulation.  

Other similar instances exist in Indian coinage. For example, in 2007, a gazette notification was issued on July 5, 2007, to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. The notification stated that the reverse of the coin would feature the Devanagari (Hindi) inscription "लोकमान्य बाल गंगाधर तिलकजी." However, on July 16, 2007, a corrigendum was issued correcting the inscription to "लोकमान्य बाल गंगाधर तिलक." Despite this, a limited number of ₹5 copper-nickel coins with the incorrect "तिलकजी" inscription were circulated and are now considered errors.

Another example occurred in 2019 when a gazette notification was issued on June 3, 2019, to commemorate Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji with a new denomination of ₹550. The notification mentioned the inscriptions "श्री गुरु नानक देव जी का 550 वाँ प्रकाश उत्सव" in Devanagari and "550th Prakash Utsav of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji" in English. However, on October 16, 2019, a correction notification was issued, substituting the words "Prakash Utsav of Shri" with "Parkash Purab of Sri." This resulted in the corrected inscriptions "श्री गुरु नानक देव जी का 550 वाँ प्रकाश पर्व" in Devanagari and "550th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji" in English.

These instances highlight the complexities and occasional anomalies in the process of minting commemorative coins in India.