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Storia della rupia

India è stato uno dei primi paesi a coniare moneta, intorno al VI secolo a.C.. L'origine della parola "rupia" è da cercare nelle parola rūp o rūpā, che significa "argento" in molte lingue indoariane come l'Hindi. La parola in lingua sanscrita rupyakam (devanagari:रूप्यकम्) significa moneta d'argento. La parola che ne deriva Rūpaya era usata per indicare le monete d'argento introdotte da Sher Shah Suri durante il suo regno dal 1540 al 1545. La Rūpaya originale era una moneta d'argento che pesava 175 grani troy (circa 11,34 grammi) ^[1]. La moneta fu in uso da allora, anche durante il periodo del Raj Britannico. In passato la rupia era suddivisa in 16 anna, 64 paise, o 192 pie. In Arabia ed in Africa Orientale la rupia dell'India britannica fu la moneta corrente per molto tempo, assieme al paisa e fu usata anche nell'africa meridionale come il Natal. In Mozambico rupia dell'India britannica fu contromarcata ed in Kenya la British East Africa company coniò rupie e frazioni. Aveve lo stesso peso e valore del florin, la moneta britannica da 2 scellini, fino al 1920. In Somalia l'autorità coloniale italiana coniò una 'Rupia' con l'identico standard e chiamò il paisa 'besa'. Agli inizi del XIX secolo rupie dell'East Indian Company furono usate per un breve periodo in Australia. La decimalizzazione fu applicata a Ceylon (Sri Lanka) nel 1872, in India nel 1957 ed in Pakistan nel 1961.

Tra le prime emissioni di cartacee della rupia ci furono quelle della Bank of Hindustan (1770-1832) della General Bank of Bengal and Bihar (1773-75, fondata da Warren Hastings) e delle Bengal Bank (1784-91).

Storicamente la rupia era una moneta basata sull'argento. Ciò ebbe severe conseguenze nel XIX secolo, quando le più forti economie nel mondo usavano invece il gold standard. La scoperta di grandi quantità di argento negli Stati Uniti ed in varie colonie europeee causò una diminuzione del valore dell'argento rispetto a quello dell'oro. Improvvisamente le moneta standard dell'India non poteva più acquistare molto all'estero. Questo evento è noto come "la caduta delle rupia."

Durante il governo britannico e nei primi anni dell'indipendenza la rupia era suddivisa in 16 anna. Ogni anna a sua volta era suddivisa in 4 paise, o 12 pie.

Nel 1957 fu attuata la decimalizzazione e la rupia fu suddivisa in 100 Naye Paise (Hindi per nuovo paisa). Dopo pochi anno, il "Naye" iniziale fu eliminato. Tuttavia diverse persone ancora chiamano le monete da 25, 50 & 75 paise con il nome di 4, 8 e 12 anna, non diversamente da come in Italia la moneta da cinque centesimi veniva chiamata soldo.

Rupee banknotes

Prime emissioni di carta moneta

Le banconote emesse dalla Bank of Bengal possono essere categorizzate in tre serie.

• Serie uniface: le prime banconote della Bank of Bengal erano stampate solo su una faccia come gold mohur e nei tgli da 100, 250, 500 rupie, etc.
• Serie "Commerce": banconote successive hanno un disegno che rappresenta una figura allegorica femminile che personifica il 'commercio'. Le banconote erano stampate da entrambi i lati. Sul recto il nome della banca e il valore erano stampate in tre lingue: urdu, bengalese e devanagari. Al verso di questi biglietti c'erano motivi ornamentali che recavano il nome della banca.
• Serie "Brittania": emesse verso la fine dell'800, il motivo 'commercio' era sostituito da 'Britannia'. Le nuove banconote avevano Le nuove banconote avevano migliori caratteristiche anti-falsificazione.

British India issues

Il Indian Paper Money Act del 1861 diede al governo il monopolio per l'emissione di banconote per tutto l'enorme territorio dell'India, che era un compito veramente rlevante. Eventually, the management of paper currency was entrusted to the Mint Masters, the Accountant Generals and the Controller of Currency.

• Serie ritratto di Victoria: la prima serie di banconote dell'India britannica fu quella con il ritratto della regina Vittoria emesse nei tagli da 10, 20, 50, 100 e 1000 rupie. Queste erano uniface e recavano d, carried two language panels. The security features incorporated the watermark, the printed signature and the registration of the notes.
• Underprint series: la serie unifaced Underprint series was introduced in 1867 as the Victoria Portrait series was withdrawn in the wake of a spate of forgeries.
• Serie re Giorgio V: Una serie che recava il ritratto di Giorgio V fu introdotta nel 1923, and was continued as an integral feature of all paper money issues of British India. These notes were issued in denominations of Rs 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 10,000.

Reserve Bank issues during British India

The Reserve Bank of India was formally inaugurated on Monday, April 1, 1935 with its Central Office at Calcutta. Section 22 of the RBI Act, 1934, empowered it to continue issuing Government of India notes until its own notes were ready for issue. The bank issued the first five rupee note bearing the portrait of George VI in 1938. This was followed by Rs. 10 in February, Rs 100 in March and Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 in June 1938. The first Reserve Bank issues were signed by the second Governor, Sir James Taylor. In August 1940, the one-rupee note was reintroduced as a wartime measure, as a Government note with the status of a rupee coin. During the war, the Japanese produced high-quality forgeries of the Indian currency. This necessitated a change in the watermark. The profile portrait of George VI was changed to his full frontal portrait. The security thread was introduced for the first time in India. The George VI series continued till 1947 and thereafter as a frozen series till 1950 when post-independence notes were issued.

Republic of India Issues

After Independence of India, the government brought out the new design Re. 1 note in 1949. Initially it was felt that the King's portrait be replaced by a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi. Finally however, the Lion Capital of Asoka was chosen. The new design of notes were largely along earlier lines. In 1953, Hindi was displayed prominently on the new notes. The economic crisis in late 1960s led to a reduction in the size of notes in 1967. High denomination notes, like Rs. 10,000 notes were demonetised in 1978.

The "Mahatma Gandhi Series" was introduced in 1996. Prominent new features included a changed watermark, windowed security thread, latent image and intaglio features for the visually handicapped.

Other issues

• Jammu and Kashmir issues: Maharaja Rambir Singh introduced paper money on watermarked paper in 1877. The notes were not very popular and were in circulation for a very short period. The notes carried the 'Sun' motif of the Dogra family.
• Hyderabad issues: The Government of Hyderabad had made several efforts to organise private bankers to set up a banking company which could issued paper money. The British, however resisted the attempts of Indian princely states to issue paper currency. The acute shortage of silver during the First World War and the contributions of Hyderabad State to the British war effort led them to accept, in 1918, paper currency in denominations of Rs.10/- and Rs.100/- issued under the Hyderabad Currency Act. The currency was designated the Osmania Sicca (OS). Rupee One and Rupees Five notes were issued subsequently in 1919 and Rupees One Thousand notes were issued in 1926. After the setting up of the India Currency Notes Press at Nasik, Hyderabad notes came to be printed there.
• Burma issues: Burma separated from India in 1938; however, the Reserve Bank of India acted as Banker to the Government of Burma and was responsible for note issue in terms of the Burma Monetary Arrangements Order, 1937. In May 1938 the Bank issued Burma notes which were not legal tender in India.
• Indo-French issues: The French Indian rupee (FIR) was introduced by France's Bank of Indochina in French colonies of India.
• Indo-Portuguese issues : The Portuguese Indian Rupia was the currency of Portuguese India until 1959. It was divisible into 16 Tangas or 960 Reis. In 1959, the currency was changed to the Portuguese Indian Escudo, at the rate of 1 Rupia for 6 Escudos.
• Persian Gulf issues: For many years in the early and mid 20th century, the Indian rupee was the official currency in several areas that were controlled by the British and governed from India; areas such as East Africa, Southern Arabia and the Persian Gulf. The rupees used in the Persian Gulf had been bought by the Gulf states from the Reserve Bank of India, who held the sterling reserves by which the rupees had originally been purchased. However, Indian rupees were being smuggled from India to the states of the Persian Gulf in exchange for gold. It was estimated in 1959 that the total amount of gold in private hands in India was about $US1.75 to 2 billion--roughly two thirds of the value of paper money in circulation. While it was legal to own and to trade in gold within India, it was illegal to import or export gold. The Gulf Rupee, also known as the Persian Gulf Rupee (XPGR), was introduced by the Indian government as a replacement for the Indian Rupee for circulation exclusively outside the country with the Reserve Bank of India Amendment Act, 1 May 1959. After India devalued the rupee on 6 June 1966, those countries still using it - Oman, Qatar and what is now the United Arab Emirates (known as the Trucial States until 1971) - replaced the Gulf Rupee with their own currencies. Kuwait and Bahrain had already done so in 1961 and 1965 respectively.
• Emergency issues, Princely states: During the 1940s, when mints were occupied for use in the war, an acute scarcity of small coins was felt throughout India. Princely states in Western India like Balvan, Bikaner, Bundi, Gondal, Indergadh, Junagadh, Jasdan, Kutch Mengni, Muli, Morvi, Mangrol, Nawanagar, Nawalgarh Palitana, Rajkot, Sailana, Sayla, Vithalgadh, issued "Cash Coupons" to meet the shortage.

• 
  French Indian 1 rupee, 1938
• 
  George VI profile portrait, RBI, 1937
• 
  Mahatma Gandhi series

Rupee coinage since the British period

The British settlements in Western India, South India, and the Eastern Province of Bengal (Calcutta) independently developed different coinages in consonance with the local acceptability of the coins for the purposes of trade. thumb|180px|right|1 Paisa coupon issued by Sayla state

One rupee, Queen Victoria series, 1862

Half anna (2 paisa) coin; an anna = 4 paisa, George VI series, 1945

The coins of Bengal were developed in the Mughal style and those of Madras mostly in a South Indian style. The English coins of Western India developed along Mughal as well as English patterns. It was only in 1717 AD that the English obtained permission from the Emperor Farrukh Siyar to coin Mughal money at the Bombay mint. The British gold coins were termed Carolina, the silver coins Anglina, the copper coins Cupperoon and tin coins Tinny. By the early 1830, the English had become the dominant power in India. The Coinage Act of 1835 provided for uniform coinage throughout India. The new coins had the effigy of William IV on the obverse and the value on the reverse in English and Persian. The coins issued after 1840 bore the portrait of Queen Victoria. The first coinage under the crown was issued in 1862 and in 1877 Queen Victoria assumed the title the Empress of India.

The 1911 accession to the throne of the King-Emperor George V led to the famous "pig rupee". On the coin the King appeared wearing the chain of the Order of the Indian Elephant. Through poor engraving the elephant looked very much like a pig. The Muslim population was incensed and the image had to be quickly redesigned.

Acute shortage of silver during the First World War, led to the introduction of paper currency of One Rupee and Two and a half Rupees. The silver coins of smaller denominations were issued in cupro-nickel. The compulsion of the Second World War led to experiments in coinage where the standard rupee was replaced by the "Quaternary Silver Alloy". The Quaternary Silver coins were issued from 1940. In 1947 these were replaced by pure Nickel coins.

Immediately after independence, the British coinage was continued. The Monetary System remained unchanged at One Rupee consisting of 64 pice, or 192 pies.

The "Anna Series" was introduced on 15 August, 1950. this was the first coinage of Republic of India. The King's Portrait was replaced by the Asoka's Lion Capital. A corn sheaf replaced the Tiger on the one Rupee coin. The monetary system was retained with one Rupee consisting of 16 Annas. The 1955 Indian Coinage (Amendment) Act, that came into force with effect from 1 April 1957, introduced a "Decimal series". The rupee was now divided into 100 'Paisa' instead of 16 Annas or 64 Pice.

With high inflation in the sixties, small denomination coins which were made of bronze, nickel-brass, cupro-nickel, and Aluminium-Bronze were gradually minted in Aluminium. This change commenced with the introduction of the new hexagonal 3 paise coin. A twenty paise coin was introduced in 1968 but did not gain much popularity.

Over a period of time, cost benefit considerations led to the gradual discontinuance of 1, 2 and 3 paise coins in the seventies; Stainless steel coinage of 10, 25 and 50 paise, was introduced in 1988 and of one rupee in 1992. The very considerable costs of managing note issues of Re 1, Rs 2, and Rs 5 led to the gradual coinisation of these denominations in the 1990s.

Decimalizzazione

Nel periodo 1835-1957,

1 rupia = 16 anna = 64 pice = 192 pie

Periodo 1957-64,

1 rupia = 100 naya paise

Dal 1964,

1 rupia = 100 paise

La richiesta di una decimalizzazione era in vita da oltre un secolo. Sri Lanka decimalizzò la sua rupia nel 1869. Lo Indian Coinage Act fu approvato nel settembre 1955 ed approvava l'adozione di un sistema decimanale per la monetazione. La legge fu applicata dal 1 aprile 1957. La rupia mantenne nome e valore. Tuttavia or era suddivisa in 100 'paisa' invece che in 16 anna o 64 pice. Per rendere più semplici le cose il nuovo paisa decimale fu chiamato 'Naya Paisa' fino al 1º giugno 1964 quando il termine 'Naya' fu tolto. Le monete in questo periodo, per evitare confusione recavano il valore in rupie. Per esempio la moneta da un paisa recava la legenda "un centesimo di rupia" in Hindi.

Devaluations

The Fall of the Rupee

Prezzo dell'argento - tassi di cambio: dal 1871-72 al 1892-93

Periodo	Prezzo dell'argento (in penny per oncia troy)	Tasso di cambio della rupia (in penny)
1871-1872	60½	23 ⅛
1875-1876	56¾	21⅝
1879-1880	51¼	20
1883-1884	50½	19½
1887-1888	44⅝	18⅞
1890-1891	47 11/16	18⅛
1891-1892	45	16¾
1892-1893	39	15
Fonti: B.E. Dadachanji. History of Indian Currency and Exchange, 3° ed., (Bombay: D.B. Taraporevala Sons & Co, 1934), p. 15.

After its victory in the guerra franco-prussiana (1870-71), Germania extracted a huge indemnity from France of £200,000,000, and then moved to join Regno Unito on a gold standard for currency. France, the U.S. and other industrialising countries followed Germany in adopting a gold standard throughout the 1870s. At the same time, other countries, such as Japan, which did not have the necessary access to gold or those, such as India, which were subject to imperial policies that determined that they did not move to a gold standard, remained mostly on a silver standard. A huge divide between silver-based and gold-based economies resulted. The worst affected were economies with silver standard that traded mainly with economies with gold standard. With discovery of more and more silver reserves, those currencies based on gold continued to rise in value and those based on silver were declining due to demonetization of silver. For India which carried out most of its trade with gold based countries, especially Britain, the impact of this shift was profound. As the price of silver continued to fall, so too did the exchange value of the rupee, when measured against pound sterling.

Since its Independence in 1947, India has faced two major financial crises and two consequent devaluations of the rupee: In 1966 and 1991.

Crisi economica del 1966

Dal 1950 l'India accumulò un deficit nella bilancia commerciale che crebbe notevolmente negli anni 1960. Inoltre, il governo indiano aveva anche un problema di deficit di bilancio e non poteva prendere denaro a prestito dall'estero o da aziende private, a causa del tasso negativo di risparmio di questo settore . Come risultato, il governo emise obbligazioni per la Reserve Bank of India, che aumentarono la circolazione monetaria, determinando l'inflazione. Nel 1966, gli aiuti stranieri, che fino ad allora erano stati un fattore chiave nella prevenzione della svalutazione della rupia, furono tagliati ed all'India fu chiesto di liberalizzare le sue restrizioni sul commercio estero, prima che si fossero materializzati nuovamente aiuti stranieri.

La risposta fu la svalutazione, politicamente impopolare, accompagnata da liberalizzazioni. Inoltre la guerra indo-pakistano del 1965 spinse gli Stati Uniti e altri paesi vicini al Pakistan a ritirare gli aiuti stranieri all'India, che provocò un'ulteriore svalutazione. Le spese per la difesa nel 1965/1966 raggiunsero il 24,06% della spesa totale, la più alta nel periodo 1965 - 1989 (Foundations, pp 195). Il secondo fattore fu la siccità del 1965/1966. Il forte aumento dei prezzi in questo periodo, che portò alla svalutazione, è stato spesso attribuito alla siccità da governi corrotti

Alla fine del 1969, la rupia indiana era commerciata a circa 13 penny (sterlina britannica). Una decade dopo, nel 1979, era scesa a circa 6 penny. Alla fine del 1989 arrivò al minimo storico di 3 penny. Ciò causò l'inizio di un 'ondata di irreversibili riforme volte alla liberalizzazione.

Crisi economica del 1991

Nel 1991 l'India aveva ancora un sistema di cambi fissi: la rupia era agganciata ad un paniere di valute dei maggiori partner commerciali. L'India iniziò ad avere problemi nella bilancia del pagamenti dal 1985, ed alla fine del 1990 si trovò con seri problemi economici. Il governo fu vicino al fallimento e le sue riserve per gli scambi all'estero si erano prosciugate a tal punto che l'India poteva finanziare solo tre settimane di importazioni. Come nel 1966 l'India er di fronte ad un'alta inflazione ed ad un ampio deficit del budget governativo. Ciò condusse il governo a svalutare la rupia.

Alla fine del 1999 la rupia indiana fu svalutata considerevolmente.

Rivalutazione

Nel periodo 2000-2007 è cessata la svalutazione della rupia indiana che si è stabilizzata intorno al valore di 1 USD = INR 44-48. A metà del2007 la rupia ha ricominciato ad acquisire valore e per la in più di dieci anni la rupia ha superato la barriera di 1 USD = INR 40.

Andamento della svalutazione

Anno	Valore di una rupia in US$
1970	7,576
1975	8,409
1980	7,887
1985	12,369
1990	17,504
1995	32,427
1996	35,433
1997	36,313
1998	41,259
1999	43,055
2000	45,000
2006	48,336
2007 (ott.)	38,480

Rupie nella cultura popolare

Le rupie sono le monete nel mondo fantastico di Hyrule: hanno l'aspetto di grandi gemme ed il valore è determinato dal loro colore. Verde vale una 1 rupia, blu 5, giallo 10, rosso 20, viola 50, arancione 100, ed argento 200.

Collegamenti esterni

• Website having a gallery of all Indian banknotes released pre-Independence A website by Anurag Varshney
• Picture of original Rupiya introduced by Sher Shah Suri
• Reserve Bank of India Monetary Museum
• World coin gallery
• Problem of the Rupee Book by B. R. Ambedkar. History of the Rupee till 1923 A.D.
• Reserve Bank of India
• Gallery of current and historical Indian banknotes
• History and Learning about banknotes from India