Vanishing quarter

The finance ministry proposes to shrink the size of coins,to prevent the distortions that come when the metallic value of coins exceeds their denomination. Its a periodic revision that changes our coin basket. So,for instance,the Re 1 coin will drop down to the size of a 50 paisa coin,a 50 paisa coin to that of a quarter rupee and the 25 paisa coin could go altogether. Coins have been discontinued by the mints before recall the square shaped one paisa and scalloped two paisa coins that are now high-valued collector items. But the disappearance of the 25 paisa coin,with all the meanings the word charanna offered as shorthand,is a reminder of the rich history of the rupee.In the first decade after Independence,India stuck to the anna system,with 16 annas to the rupee,with an anna equivalent to 4 pice,with paise being the singular. The switchover to the decimal system came in the mid-50s with an amendment to the Coinage Act,and a rupee was deemed to be made up of 100 naya paisa or new paisa,to distinguish the new denomination from the older paise. It was only in the 60s that the new denomination became dominant and the word naya could be hushed. Even now,however,colloquially the words naya paisa are used to bring emphasis to a statement. And it would be fair to bet that while the coins may be removed from our purse,the word anna will remain in our vocabulary.

So,now as accounting systems are reworked to trade only in

half rupees and more,the move is towards removing the smaller denominations of rupee notes too. The bimetallic Rs 10 coin may perhaps soon fully replace the note. Yet it is also,on the festival of wealth,a good moment to recall a time when money was counted in a non-decimal system.