Page 396 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (I)_Neat

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394 Counterfeit coins.

A serious state of affairs has ocurrod during the

last year owing .to the alarming increase in counter­
feit rupees which have found their way into Bahrain.
Tnree or four y^ars a^o it v/as comparatively unusual

to discover bad coins in the market but today it has been
estimated that as many as 5c/o of the rupees in currency
are bad ones. I’or over a year every coin which is re-

ceived either by merchants or in offices is tested by
ringing on 4ke stone or metal before it is accepted.

The natter is further complicated by the fact that the
bonk, quite rightly, refuses to accept suspicious coins
not only coins which do not ring true but also coins

which are obviously counterfeited, The local people
only know and admit one method of testing coins and
that is by ringing them and only a few foreign merchants

and Indians can diitinguish counterfeit coins by their
appearance.

The matter has been fruitlessly discussed at great
length by the two llunicipal councils whose viev/ is that
the Bank ana all Government offices should be made to

accept every coin except those whose ring is obviously
false. This point of view is one which counot be
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accepted by the Government.,

A suggestion was made that the Garernncnt should
levy
buy a special tea on all ppecie and coins imported and
with the fund obtained by this tax it should buy in all

counterfeit coins. This would encourage the traffic
of counterfeit coins at the expense of the Bahrain tax

payer.
Another suggestion was that Indian currency notes
should be introduced but as the lowest denomination of
;

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