The pice with a hole

Here is a crazy shaped Indian coin. This was a pice that was minted in 1940s. As you can notice, it is minted in a ring shape. I have no idea why this was done so; probably just trying to save some copper while still giving illusion of a big one pice coin. "Pice" was the spelling used for "paisa" (पैसा), which then was the 64^th part of the rupee. The conversion to metric happened much later, around 1957, when the new paisa was made the 100^th part of the rupee.

On the obverse (that is the front side), you can see "PICE" and "INDIA" written is the top half with a crown in between. In the bottom half, we have "एक पैसा" (ek paisa, meaning one pice) in Hindi, and same in Urdu with the year 1945 in between.

Curiously, the bust of the king (then George VI) is missing which was commonly found on reverse of all coins a little before this time.

On the reverse, there is no lettering at all. The complete ring is just adorned with floral designs that look like a wreath.

Of course, one cannot miss the gaping hole right in the middle of the coin.

Book: The Undercover Economist

Sometime back I finished reading the book "The Undercover Economist" by Tim Harford. Forgot to write about it. Only got time now to post about it.

This book gives a good idea of basic economics in a very applied manner making it very interesting to read. Instead of reading about demand and supply of some fictitious goods etc. you read about some real world stories that immediately appeal to your common sense.

The author goes through most of the micro-economic concepts quite systematically and explains the basic ideas like scarcity, monopoly etc. without using any technical jargons. He goes on to describe other market failures like externalities, asymmetric information, adverse selection, etc. by using such understandable examples as driving and traffic congestions, used car market, and health insurance.

He then goes on to more macro-economic issues attempting to give an explanation for poverty, development, etc.

The author does all this without getting all technical or dry and keeps the narrative flowing and the tone is distinctly humorous and light-hearted.

A great read for anyone who wants to understand basic economics or even for those of us who want to learn some easy ways to explain the basic economic concepts to others.

I received this book as a gift from Sankar. Thanks to him for choosing such an appropriate and thoughtful gift.

Finished Reading "India: A History"

Finished reading "India: A History" by John Keay. I was quite impressed by the book. In addition to being well written and lucid, it was quite surprising to see a bit of wry humor in reporting history. As the book is quite impartial it is a refreshing read compared to the polarised books one gets to read.

John Keay manages to give very good account of the early history of India also. He is quite focused in trying to put together a time-line and sticking to reporting historical facts according to the time-line and and keeping in proportion. Good deal of information on how a historian pieces together a lot of evidence to deduce facts.

I will certainly recommend the book to anyone who is interested in reading about Indian history.

In response to comment: My edition is a "Harper Collins". I paid about Rs. 295/- in India. This was the marked price. Quite a good price for such a book.

One Rupee Silver Coin with Queen Victoria

Here is the true rupee coin. Silver, about 11.6 grams (one "tola") was the age old definition of the Rupee. Here is one that was produced in the reign of Victoria.

The obverse gives the denomination in words as "ONE RUPEE" and the country and year. The reverse shows the portrait of the sovereign along with the words "VICTORIA QUEEN" around nearer to the border. The obverse also has a nice pattern resembling some creepers. Full 3 cm. across, the coin is really a beauty. It's like holding a piece of history in hand.

Just as silver, the rupee will be worth around Rs. 145/- today.

Information on this coin is also available here as part of my site.

What do I plan to post?

To start with, I may post some information about Indian coins. I may post about books I am reading, anything interesting I see, any photographs I take, or just some personal opinions too.