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Message:: [QUOTE="The Meat man, post: 26763491, member: 135271"]I recently picked up this very nice toned half rupee. Pictures can't really capture the nice flashy surfaces. [ATTACH=full]1708864[/ATTACH] BRITISH INDIA Time of Victoria, 1837-1901 AR ½ Rupee (24.4mm, 5.84g, 12h) Dated 1862. Calcutta mint, India Obverse: VICTORIA QUEEN, crowned bust of Queen Victoria left Reverse: HALF RUPEE INDIA 1862 in four lines within ornate wreath of roses, thistles, and lotus flowers References: Numista 17813 (type B/II) Mintage: 7,122,000 From the Holland Wallace Collection (1940-2018). Ex Neil Shafer. Nearly mint state, deeply toned with hints of iridescence. Here's a video: [MEDIA=youtube]RM-y9VMGDhw[/MEDIA] While the history of British involvement in India dates back to the beginning of the 17th century, it wasn't until 1858, in the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny of 1857-8, that direct governmental control of the subcontinent was transferred from the British East India Company to the Crown. British rule after the rebellion tended to be more guarded and circumspect; earlier attempts to modernize India and institute social reforms were restrained, and the army was restructured to help prevent any uprisings in the future. This period of Crown rule, called the British Raj, continued until India gained its independence in 1947.[/QUOTE]