Maratha Rupee i.n.o. Ahmad Shah Bahadur, Katak mint (struck at Nagpur), RY 5

[Overlord]

Mass=11.2 g

The Standard Catalogue lists this as a Mughal issue (KM#446.29). However, Katak was under Maratha control from AH1165 to AH1218, making this coin a Maratha issue.

Obverse Sikka Mubarak Badshah Ghazi Ahmad Shah Bahadur (Auspicious coin of the Emperor, Fighter Against Infidels, Ahmad Shah Bahadur)



Reverse Zarb Katak Sanat 5 Jalus Manus Maimanat [Struck at Katak in the Fifth Year (of his) Reign Associated With Prosperity]

[Salvete]

Hello again, Overlord.

That is a splendid coin  .  PPK's book tells me that it from Nagpur mint with the false mint name 'Cuttack.'  It can, it seems, be told apart from the same year from Cuttack mint itself (K2.1) by the style of calligraphy and shape of Persian '5' and probably in other ways, too.  On the Cuttack coin the '5' is round, not heart-shaped.  There was at least one year that this type K4) was struck that PPK left out, and that is RY 6.

A word of caution to anybody trying to collect Bhonsle coins from the sparse details in the Krause catalogues - Krause is misleading, and many types - particularly the copper coins, are not in Krause at all.  Get the book by P P Kulkarni.  It is now out of print, so far as I am aware, but second-hand copies are usually available from a number of sources via the internet and e-bay.  I've recommended this book before on WoC, and one or two people have bought it cheaply recently, and had the grace to let me know it is still available, and confirmed that it is very useful.

Hope this helps.

Salvete

Thanks for posting it - it's nicer than my own specimen 

Salvete

[Overlord]

Thanks Salvete. I found a copy of Coinage of the Bhonsla Rajas of Nagpur online and have ordered it. I already have Maratha Mints and Coinage by Maheshwari and Wiggins, which I find quite excellent.

[Salvete]

I wish you joy from both, Overlord.  I am not aware of a better catalogue for those series than the two books you mention.

Salvete