Accept Rs 10 coins as legal tender without any hesitation: RBI

Dispelling rumours of fake Rs 10 coin in circulation, RBI on Sunday asked people not to give credence to such canards and continue to accept these coins as legal tender in all their transactions without any hesitation. It has been reported that some less-informed or uninformed persons who suspect the genuineness of such coins are creating doubts in the minds of ordinary people including traders, shopkeepers, etc, impeding the circulation of these coins in certain pockets of the country causing avoidable confusion, RBI said in a statement.

"The Reserve Bank has advised members of the public not to give credence to such ill-informed notions and ignore them and continue to accept these coins as legal tender in all their transactions without any hesitation," it said. According to RBI as coins remain in circulation for longer periods, it is quite possible that coins of different designs and even shapes are circulating at the same time.

One such change is introduction of 'Rupee symbol' in coins in July 2011, it said. An instance of this is the Rs 10 coin with rupee symbol and the same denomination coin without rupee symbol, it said, adding both of them are legal tender and equally good for transactions, though they may look a little different.

It further said RBI puts into circulation coins minted by the Government of India and these have distinctive features. Coins in new denominations to meet transaction needs of public and coins in new designs to reflect various themes - economic, social and cultural - are introduced from time to time, it added.