The Uniform Coinage of India, British Imperial Period, Victoria, copper Half-Anna, 1884, Calcutta or Bombay, mixture of types B and C, crowned and robed bust left, victoria empress, 4.25 panels in jabot, v on bodice at left, rev. half anna above india and date, all within scroll-like wreath of Indian flora, leaf under centre of date, edge plain, 12.81g/12h (Prid. 589 var. [Sale, lot 161]; cf. SW 6.467; KM. 487; cf. Fore III, 2194). Bright appearance from past cleaning, otherwise extremely fine and extremely rare £800-£1,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Puddester Collection.

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Bt R. Weir (Unionville, ONT) November 2005, envelope.

The half-annas dated 1884, of which several specimens are now known, present something of an enigma, depicting as they do the bust type with 4.25 panels in jabot, only employed at Calcutta, on which the lowest part of the bodice has been re-engraved and a v added, as per the 1877-9 issues from Bombay. It may be that they are all slightly later issues, struck for a specific but now unknown purpose