{"product_id":"1968-india-20-paise-lotus-bombay-mint-vf-ef","title":"1968 India 20 Paise — Republic of India \/ Ashoka Lion Capital — Sacred Lotus — Bombay Mint — VF+ to EF","description":"\u003cp\u003e☢️ Warmed in a chai wallah's coin pouch on a Bombay afternoon, this twenty-paise coin carried the sacred lotus — India's national flower — in nickel brass that gave it a golden glow no other denomination in the series could match.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThis 1968 Indian 20 paise was struck at the Bombay Mint, identified by the small diamond mint mark below the date. It belongs to the first series of this denomination in nickel brass, produced only from 1968 to 1971 before the coin was redesigned in aluminum. The lotus on the reverse is not decoration. It is the national flower of India, chosen because it grows from mud into clean water and blooms untouched by either — a metaphor the republic adopted as its own.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe Ashoka Lion Capital returns on the obverse, the same emblem that appears on every Indian coin and banknote. But this coin tells a different story from earlier paise. India devalued the rupee on June 6, 1966, cutting its value against the dollar by more than a third. By 1968, the economy was still absorbing the shock, and these golden-toned coins entered pockets that had lost real purchasing power overnight.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e💡 Everyday Life at the Time\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn 1968, twenty paise could buy a plate of chaat from a street vendor or a short autorickshaw ride in Bombay. The Green Revolution was beginning to transform Indian agriculture under the new high-yield seed varieties, and Bombay was growing into the commercial capital it would become over the next decade. Cinema halls played Bollywood films for a few rupees, and the textile mills of Girangaon still employed tens of thousands across the city.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e📜 Historical Context\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe 20 paise denomination was introduced in 1968 as part of India's evolving decimal coinage. The country had decimalized in 1957, replacing the old anna and pie system with one hundred paise to the rupee, but not every denomination in the new system appeared immediately. The 20 paise filled a gap between the 10 and 25, and the nickel brass composition gave it a distinctive golden color that set it apart from the silver-toned nickel coins around it.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe Bombay Mint struck roughly ten and a half million of these coins in 1968 — a modest run compared to higher denominations. The lotus series lasted only four years before aluminum replaced nickel brass across most of India's smaller coinage. Rising metal costs made the heavier brass coins uneconomical, and the lighter aluminum versions that followed would dominate Indian pockets for decades. Every 20 paise coin was officially demonetized on June 30, 2011.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e🧾 Coin Details\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCountry: India\u003cbr\u003eDenomination: 20 Paise\u003cbr\u003eYear: 1968\u003cbr\u003eGovernment: Republic of India\u003cbr\u003eComposition: Nickel brass\u003cbr\u003eWeight: 4.44 g\u003cbr\u003eDiameter: 22.0 mm\u003cbr\u003eThickness: 1.75 mm\u003cbr\u003eMintage: 10,585,000 (Bombay Mint)\u003cbr\u003eCondition: VF+ to EF — warm golden brass luster well-preserved; lotus petals retain individual definition with sharp edges; Ashoka lions clearly detailed with visible mane texture; light surface marks from circulation but no significant wear on high points\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThis coin has real presence in the hand. At nearly four and a half grams and twenty-two millimeters, it feels substantial — heavier than the nickel 25 paise from the same era, and noticeably warmer in color. The nickel brass gives it a golden tone that photographs cannot fully capture, shifting between honey and amber depending on the light. The lotus petals catch individually, each one casting its own tiny shadow.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e⭐ Why This Coin Is a Great Collectible\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e• Features the sacred lotus — India's national flower, chosen for its symbolism of purity and resilience\u003cbr\u003e• Nickel brass composition gives a distinctive golden color unique to this brief 1968–1971 series\u003cbr\u003e• Struck at the Bombay Mint with diamond mint mark — mintage of just over ten million, modest by Indian standards\u003cbr\u003e• Entered circulation two years after the rupee devaluation of 1966, during a period of economic adjustment\u003cbr\u003e• Bilingual inscriptions in English and Devanagari on both sides\u003cbr\u003e• Demonetized in 2011 — a denomination and a metal composition both consigned to history\u003cbr\u003e• The lotus series lasted only four years before aluminum replaced brass across Indian small coinage\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e💡 Collector Tip\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOnce you hold this coin next to a nickel paise from the same decade, the difference is immediate — the golden warmth of the brass against the cool silver of the nickel tells you something about why India kept changing its coinage metals throughout the twentieth century. The kind of collector who notices when a country switches alloys mid-decade is the kind who starts reading inflation through metal weight. Across South Asia and beyond, the shift from heavier alloys to aluminum in the 1960s and 1970s traces the same economic pressure in country after country.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eYou will receive the exact coin shown in these photographs. All coins are authentic and unaltered — we don't enhance patina or touch up surfaces. Grades are conservative; circulated pieces show honest wear from actual use, not damage or mishandling. Carefully packaged. Ships promptly with tracking.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe lotus grows from mud and blooms clean. They put it on a coin made of brass and sent it into the world to get dirty. It still looks like gold.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WadesCoinShop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48010972659926,"sku":"S-IND-INDIA-20P-1968","price":1.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/4939\/5158\/files\/20260329_170235.jpg?v=1774822993","url":"https:\/\/wadescoinshop.myshopify.com\/products\/1968-india-20-paise-lotus-bombay-mint-vf-ef","provider":"WadesCoinShop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}