The EIC's Forgotten Mint: How Company Silver Became Mughal Rupees

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a crucial but overlooked piece of the East India Company's machinery: its mints. From the 1640s onward, the Company didn't just trade — it minted coins. In Surat, Bombay, and Madras, Company workshops struck silver rupees, gold pagodas, and copper dams that circulated alongside Mughal and local currencies. Lucas explains how the Company obtained bullion from the New World — silver from Potosí via Manila galleons and Acapulco — and why it had to produce high-quality coinage to win the trust of Indian merchants. The conversation covers the Surat mint under the Mughal farman, the copper shortage in 17th-century Bombay, and the Madras pagoda with its iconic deity figure. Luna asks about counterfeiting, seigniorage, and the transition from Mughal to Company currency after Plassey. The episode reveals how control of the mint was as important as control of the sea — and how the Company's coins quietly announced its transformation from merchant to sovereign. #EastIndiaCompany #MughalEmpire #Coinage #Numismatics #Surat #Bombay #Madras #SilverRupee #Pagoda #Potosí #ManilaGalleon #Seigniorage #Counterfeiting #17thCentury #18thCentury #EconomicHistory #FexingoHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo