The Puddester Collection (Part I)

East India Company, Bombay Presidency, Early coinages: English design, zinc Double-Pice, 1741, in the name of George II (1139-74h/1727-60), large crown, orb dividing g r [Georgius Rex], bomb below, rev. auspicio regis et senatus angliæ [Under the patronage of the King and Parliament of England] and date, scrolled ornament above, 29.10g/12h (Prid. 233 [Sale, lot 506]; Stevens 2.125; KM. 157.1). A small area of tin pest on the edge at 12 o’clock, otherwise a superb specimen, extremely fine and perhaps the finest known, very rare [certified and graded NGC AU 55] £1,000-£1,500

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

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F. Pridmore Collection, Part II, Glendining Auction (London), 18-19 October 1982, lot 506
Bt A.P. de Clermont (London).

Owner’s ticket.

By 1741 the shortage of copper coin was becoming acute and so the authorities turned to tutenague, a form of raw zinc, which offered a much greater profit margin when coined. By October of that year the new coins were in circulation, and were struck in various years down to 1773. Counterfeits, principally of lead, proved an occasional problem and in 1748 an organised withdrawal of forgeries was managed by the Bombay Treasury. Problems arose with the excess amounts charged when exchanging zinc coins in 1772-3, and by October 1773, with a glut of forgeries in circulation once more, they would not pass current in the bazaar. The authorities reacted by re-instigating a coinage of copper pice and withdrawing the zinc coins, which were eventually disposed of in 1775