India has a long history, which accounts for the numerous varying gold coin denominations that have been issued over time including the Indian gold Ashrafi coin. Different Indian provinces had different gold coins. For example, Mir Usman Ali Khan, the last Princely State of Hyderabad and Berar’s Nizam, introduced the India Gold Ashrafi coin in the 20th year of his 1911 to 1948 rule. Hyderabad was situated in India’s South-Central region under the rule of a Nizam from 1724 to 1948. Its founding is credited to Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan who used to be Deccan’s Governor in the 1713 to 1721 Mughal Empire.
The India gold Ashrafi coin comes in four denominations. They include quarter, half and one Ashrafi. Their features are different depending on issuance year and the issuing province. For instance, the 1 gold Ashrafi coin that was issued by Ali Khan in 1367 had four main elements on its obverse. These include the full shot of the Charminar that was built in 1591 in doorway and type II variety signature. The Charminar is a constant feature on the obverse of the other denominations. Its reverse contains an ornate arabesque that encircles three sets of vertically aligned inscriptions that appear on the top, right, and left extremes.
The 25-millimeter wide gold 1 Hyderabad Ashrafi weighs 11.178 grams with a gold weight of 0.327 t/oz purity of 91 percent. With equal gold fineness, the half India gold Ashrafi is 22 millimeters wide with a weight of 5.589 grams and 0.163 t/oz. The quarter coin weighs 2.794 grams gross with an actual gold weight of 0.08174 grams at 91 percent fineness. The Indian eighth gold Ashrafi coin has a diameter of 11 millimeters with a mass weight of 1.3970 grams. The actual gold weight is 0.0409 t/0z and 91 percent pure.
Fully owned by the Government of India, the India Government Mint has always been the producer and issuer of all gold coins in India pursuant to the 1906 Indian Coinage Act. It has headquarters in Trichirapalli, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Kolkata. However, the India Gold Ashrafi coins are only minted by the mints located in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Kolkata.
