Maratha Confederacy gold hon

[Bimat]

Hi Richie,
Here is one link related to another Maratha confederacy gold coin.You will surely find it interesting.
http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2009/01/09224035/Get-a-glimpse-of-two-Shivajie.html
I was lucky to see the coin in coin fair last week.The coin is considered to be one of the rarest coins.
Aditya

[Figleaf]

Since newspaper articles tend to disappear after a while, I have put it (and the picture) here:

Get a glimpse of two Shivaji-era coins
Correspondent, Friday, January 09th, 2009 AT 10:01 PM

Two rare 'hons', gold coins minted to commemorate the coronation of warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji in June 1674, will be on display at a three-day exhibition being held under the aegis of Pune-based International Collector's Society of Rare Items (ICSRI).

Billed as part of only seven existing coins of the particular genre, the round shaped hons weigh around 2.8 gm each and are little smaller than a 25 paise coin in size, ICSRI president Shrinivas Bhat told mediapersons. The exhibition will commence at Sonal Hall on Karve Road from Saturday. This would be the first public display of the coins in Pune, he claimed.

Three museums, including a London-based museum besides two others in Mumbai and Delhi, possess one hon each of the seven known mid-17th century coins along with four private collectors. Two of these private collectors are from Pune and are members of ICSRI, he said.

It is believed that as many as seven lakh gold hons and some copper coins were gifted to those who had attended Chhatrapati Shivaji's coronation at Fort Raigad. They were seized and destroyed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after the Maratha king's death in 1680, Bhat said. The hon has 'Shri Raja Shiv' with dotted outline inscribed on its obverse side and 'Chhatrapati' on its reverse. It mentions no year or place.

The ICSRI exhibition will display 75 frames of old coins, currencies, medals, postal stationary and other collections of numismatists from across the India. An auction of rare items is scheduled for Sunday evening.

Source: Sakaal Times

[Rangnath]

Thanks Peter.
Wow Aditya, you are one lucky fellow. What an incredible slice of history that coin represents.

Aditya, of all the coins that you saw at the fair,
if you could have purchased one,
which one would it have been? And why?
richie

[Bimat]

Hi Richie,
A very difficult question,can you give me some options? .Each and every coin displayed there was awesome-British India,The Gold Hon,Foreign coins and British India banknotes...Why don't you visit India to "experience" these coins?There are many 'coin museums' in India,and you can contact any of the collector here easily!I am sure it will be a amazing trip for you!
Aditya

[Bimat]

One more related link (Another article in Times of India) is here:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pune/Coins_from_Shivaji_era_main_attraction_at_rare_items_expo/articleshow/3953767.cms

[Rangnath]

IF the Emperor Aurangzeb had realised that by melting Shivaji's Gold coins he was in fact raising the 21st century value of the coin, maybe he would have pursued a different strategy! 
richie

[Figleaf]

There are more examples of this effect. The king of France wanted all copies of coins that made him a cuckold destroyed, so they are quite expensive today. When information became quicker and better distributed, the effect turned around. Kruger coins with mistakes are somewhat easier to get than the corrected coins, as enough people were aware of the errors and the attempt to get the coins with mistakes out of circulation.

Peter