Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 25 Paise 1982, KM# 52, India, Republic, Delhi 1982 Asian Games
  • 25 Paise 1982, KM# 52, India, Republic, Delhi 1982 Asian Games
Description

The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a Pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games. In its history, nine nations have hosted the Asian Games. Forty-six nations have participated in the Games, including Israel, which was excluded from the Games after their last participation in 1974.

The 9th Asian Games were held from November 19, 1982, to December 4, 1982, in Delhi, India. An incredible 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of the Olympic Council of Asia.

A total of 3,411 athletes from 33 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these games, competing in 196 events in 21 sports and 23 disciplines. The number of participating countries was the greatest in Asian Games history. Handball, equestrian, rowing and golf were included for the first time; fencing and bowling were excluded.

Obverse

Depicts the State Emblem of India surrounded by the country name above and denomination below.

The State Emblem of India is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath, preserved in the Sarnath Museum near Varanasi, India. A representation of Lion Capital of Ashoka was officially adopted on 26 January 1950, the day that India became a republic. The emblem appears on all Indian currency.

The actual Sarnath capital features four Asiatic lions standing back to back, symbolizing power, courage, confidence and pride, mounted on a circular base. At the bottom is a horse and a bull, and at its centre is a wheel (Dharma Chakra). The abacus is girded with a frieze of sculptures in high relief of The Lion of the North, The Horse of the West, The Bull of the South and The Elephant of the East, separated by intervening wheels, over a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration.

In the emblem finally adopted, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in relief in the centre of the abacus, with a bull on the right and a galloping horse on the left, and outlines of Dharma Chakras on the extreme right and left.

भारत INDIA
पैसे 25 PAISE

Reverse

The Misra Yantra as a logo for the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. Mintmark (if any) divides the date.

Mishra Yantra is one of the four distinct astronomical instruments of the Jantar Mantar observatory located in New Delhi, India. Each instrument at the Jantar Mantar are separate brilliant architectures constructed based on mathematical observations and help in calculating different aspects of celestial objects and time. The site is one of five built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur, from 1723 onwards, as he was given by Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah the task of revising the calendar and astronomical tables.

The four instruments of Jantar Mantar are Samrat Yantra (a large sundial for calculating time), Jay Prakash Yantra (2 concave hemispherical structures, used to ascertain the position of Sun and other heavenly bodies), Ram Yantra (two large cylindrical structures with open top, used to measure the altitude of stars based on the latitude and the longitude on the earth) and the Mishra Yantra (meaning mixed instrument, since it is a compilation of five different instruments).

नवम एशियाई खेल IX ASIAN GAMES
DELHI
1982

Edge
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Cupronickel
Weight 2.6 g
Diameter 19.2 mm
Thickness 1.24 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mints
Calcutta Mint (no mintmark)
Hyderabad Mint (★)
Mumbai Mint (B)
Mumbai Mint (♦)

Related coins

Delhi 1982 Asian Games

Cupronickel, 8.1 g, ⌀ 28 mm