Coins of British India The 1947 Rupee, half rupee, quarter rupee and Anna coins are also of special interest to collectors, since that was the last year British issued coins were circulated in India. Coins of British India British trading posts in India were first established by the East India Company (EIC) early in the seventeenth century, which quickly evolved into larger colonies covering a significant part of the subcontinent. Early settlements or factories included Masulipatnam (1611) and Madras (1640) in the south, Surat (1612) in the west, and modern-day Kolkata (1698–99) in the east. These colonies gave rise to Madras Presidency, Bombay Presidency,
Presidencies and provinces of British India India" also applied to Burma for a shorter time period: starting in 1824, a small part of Burma, and by 1886, almost two-thirds of Burma had come under British India. This arrangement lasted until 1937, when Burma commenced being administered as a separate British colony. "British India" did not apply to other countries in the region, such as Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), which was a British Crown colony, or the Maldive Islands, which were a British protectorate. At its greatest extent, in the early 20th century, the territory of British India extended as far as the frontiers of Persia in