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A pie (abbreviated as Ps) was a unit of currency in British India (now the independent nations of India, Burma, Pakistan and Bangladesh) until 1947. It was the smallest currency unit, equal to 1⁄3 of a pice, 1⁄12 of an anna or 1⁄192 of a rupee. [1]
During the mid-nineteenth century, one pie was worth 12 cowry. [2]
Minting of the pie ended in 1942, though it remained in circulation for a further five years. The pie was demonetized in 1947 as it had become practically worthless due to inflation during WW2. [note 1]
Pakistan, however, resumed minting the pie from 1951–1957, coins from 1951 were stuck in the name of King George VI, coins produced between 1952 and 1955 were struck in the name of Queen Elizabeth II while coins from 1956 and 1957 were struck in the name of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. [3] Pakistan's resumption of the pie was in part because the Pakistani rupee was valued higher than the Indian rupee from 1949 onwards, when India devalued its currency to maintain the exchange rate with the Pound Sterling.
Under the old currency system, each subunit of the Rupee was separated with a slash, the first number is the number of rupees, the second is the number of annas (1⁄16), the third is the number of pices (1⁄64), and the fourth is the number of pies (1⁄192). The table below shows four examples of currency notation and their decimal value:
| Notation | Rupees | Annas | Pices | Pies | Decimal value (Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rs 1/15/3/2 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 1.9947 |
| Rs 1/8/3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | — | 1.546 |
| Rs 1/4 | 1 | 4 | — | — | 1.25 |
| Rs 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1.00 |