The tola is an Indian unit of weight. The
most popular weight is the 10 tola cast bar,
equivalent to 3.75 oz or 116.64 g. More than 2
million are manufactured annually. Tola bars, most of
which are imported from Europe, are widely traded in
the Middle East, India, Pakistan and Singapore.
10 tola bars are distinctive in
two ways. They have smooth rounded edges and are an
ideal size for smuggling, if necessary inside the
smuggler’s body. They have no serial numbers.
Round minted tola bars are often incorporated into
jewellery, especially in Pakistan where
‘marriage necklaces’ can weigh 500 g or
more. The Exhibition displays tola bars issued by a
variety of manufacturers.
The bar shown here is by:
Degussa, Singapore.
