CHAPTER XVII.
The Mint.
The State Mint was moved in 1904 from Hyderabad city to the suburb of Saifabad, and since that time it had seen many important developments.
In 1853, when Sir Salar Jung I began his currency reforms, there was practically no State money. No less than 26 mints coined money at that time, and three rupees — the Bagh Chalni, the Shahr Chami, and the Hukm Chalni — were then in circulation and each had a different weight and different value. At that time no less than fifty varieties of silver coins were used in the State, to say nothing of copper coins.
The standard of silver currency introduced by the Delhi rulers was nine of silver and two of alloy, and the name of the King of Delhi was on Hyderabad coins until 1858 (the year after the Mutiny). But the standard was much debased in the private mints, and as the rupees were all hand-made, they could be easily manufactured in the city bazaars.
