[4] The original medal was minted in England in 1801–2, but only sent out to India in 1808, for distribution to dignitaries and to troops from the presidencies of Bombay and Madras.

[8] Although commonly worn in uniform, formal permission to wear the medal was only granted to officers in HEIC service in 1815,[9] and to members of the British Army in 1851, upon the decision not to grant a separate Seringapatam clasp to the newly instituted Army of India Medal.

The original medals, with a diameter of 1.9 inches (48 mm), were manufactured at the Soho Mint in Birmingham, England in 1801–2.

[7] The Soho Mint medals were awarded without any means of suspension for wear,[12] with recipients arranging their own, which included both ring and bar suspenders.

[5] Although there was no formal regulation, the medal was usually worn on the left chest from a watered pale orange ribbon, with the shading representing the stripes of a tiger, Tipu's emblem.