10-rupee bi-metal coin will be available soon

The country’s first bi-metal coin, in the denomination of Rs.10, will soon be available in the city. The coins made of aluminium bronze and cupronickel, which is primarily an alloy of copper and nickel, is being distributed to the banks where they will be issued through counters for general circulation. Reserve Bank of India officials said the coins, which were launched in Mumbai a month ago, were designed by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. The new coins, which were minted in 2007, come in two designs.

The coins with the theme ‘Unity in diversity’ on them would be immediately available in Chennai. The obverse side of the coin bear the lion capital of Ashoka Pillar with the lettering of ‘Satyameva Jayate’ in Hindi and the numerals indicating the denomination. The reverse side would have the representation of unity in diversity symbolised through four heads sharing a common body. This denotes people of four regions of the country coming together to be identified as one nation, the officials said. The coin would not be heavy on pockets as it weighs only 7.71 gms, the officials added. The other design depicting the theme of ‘Connectivity and Information Technology’ would be circulated later. RBI’s regional director (Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) F.R.Joseph said that the RBI office in Chennai received soiled notes worth Rs.24 lakh every day. Of these, at least 10-20 per cent were currency notes in the denomination of Rs.10. While currency notes made of cotton rag paper last only for 10 years, the life of the coins is up to 20 years, he said. Such initiatives of introducing new coins or currency notes are taken based on the need. One of the reasons for launch of bi-metal coins in denomination of Rs.10 is to easily distinguish them from coins of other denominations, he said. Members of Madras Coin Society said silver coins in the denomination of Rs.10 were introduced in 1969. Three more designs were introduced in the three consecutive years.

The Central government and the RBI are considering the option of introducing plastic coated or polymer notes similar to those in circulation in other countries such as Australia and Singapore. But, a decision on that is yet to be taken.

Shining bright: The new bi-metal ten rupee coins that will soon be circulated in Chennai.