Obverse Inscription Anomaly in a Rupee of William IV: A Preliminary Note

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William IV, born William Henry, was the last monarch to rule as King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well as King of Hanover, reigning from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. He was the third son of George III. During his reign, the East India Company issued silver rupees bearing the date 1835, which are known today in several distinct varieties. In addition to these officially dated issues, numismatic evidence also points to the existence of an exceptionally rare rupee dated 1840 carrying his name. Furthermore, rotation errors observed on rupees from William IV’s period are relatively well documented and frequently encountered among surviving specimens.

The silver rupee issued in the name of William IV represents one of the most distinctive coinages of the East India Company period. Although William IV reigned from 1830 to 1837, the standard rupee bearing his name is dated 1835 and exists in multiple varieties, reflecting differences in lettering, portrait details, and die characteristics. These coins feature a youthful bust of the king on the obverse and the traditional Company-era reverse design. In addition to regular issues, certain minting anomalies, such as rotation errors and rare off-date specimens, have drawn continued interest from collectors and researchers. As a result, the William IV rupee holds notable importance in the study of transitional British Indian coinage.

A silver rupee of William IV was identified with a distinctly unusual obverse lettering pattern. On this specimen, both occurrences of the letter “I” in WILLIAM appear broken, particularly along the lower right portion, as illustrated in the figure. In addition, the second “L” in WILLIAM shows clear breaks at the upper right and lower left sections, while the letter “M” displays an irregular and poorly formed shape compared to standard issues. The coin weighs 11.5 g and has a diameter of approximately 30.5 mm, both of which fall within the normal tolerance range for East India Company silver rupees of this period. These consistent lettering anomalies suggest a die-related variation rather than post-mint damage, making the specimen of particular interest for further numismatic study.




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