Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Cents - Victoria
| Issuer | Mauritius |
|---|---|
| Year | 1877-1899 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.33 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | VICTORIA QUEEN |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Mauritius adopted a decimal currency system in 1877, replacing the older rupee-based fractional coinage with a new series tied directly to the Indian rupee at parity. The 20-cent denomination was peculiar to the island — no equivalent piece circulated in Britain or most other colonial possessions — reflecting the specific small-transaction needs of a sugar-export economy dependent on indentured labor from India and Madras following emancipation in 1835.
The .800 silver standard rather than sterling .925 was a deliberate cost reduction, matching the fineness used across several contemporary British colonial issues in Asia and the Indian Ocean.