Archive Lots

Assam, Ahom kingdom – silver rupee of Chakradhwaja Simha or Siu-pung-mung (1663-1670), Ahom script legends, Rhodes-Bose B10.5. Obv: Ahom legend K?o / boi Ph? / T?-r? / heu ceu in dotted border Rev: Ahom legend Chao Ph? / Siu-pung-mu/ ng pin can / L?k-ni / plek ngi, small lion at the bottom, cutting across dotted border. Chakradhwaja Simha tried to free him off any vestige of Mughal suzerainty that was imposed on the Ahom kingdom through a treaty signed by his predecessor Jayadhwaja Simha. To this effect, he appears to have initiated a coinage in the local Ahom script and language with his Ahom name and an invocation to local deity Pha Tara. Another feature initiated by him is the incorporation of a small animal in the margin – in this case, a lion. Extra Fine+, Very Rare.

Assam, Gadadhara Simha or Siu Pat Pha (SE 1603-1618 ; 1681-1696 AD), Silver Octagonal Rupee, 11.30 grams, 22.40mm, both sides legend in Ahom script with border of dots between two lines, Obv: Kao boi pha Leng don heu chiu, Rev: Chao Siu pat pha pin khun lakni Rai san. (Bose S K, E1.1). Extra Fine+, Very Rare.

Assam, Gadadhara Simha or Siu Pat Pha (SE 1603-1618 ; 1681-1696 AD), Silver Octagonal Rupee, 11.30 grams, 21.67mm, both sides legend in Ahom script with border of dots between two lines, Obv: Kao boi pha Leng don heu chiu, lion on left field bottom facing right chasing a bird at upper right, Rev: Chao Siu pat pha pin khun lak ni Rai san. (Bose S K, E3.1). Extra Fine+, Very Rare.

Assam, Gadadhara Simha or Siu Pat Pha (SE 1603-1618 ; 1681-1696 AD), Silver Octagonal Rupee, 11.30 grams, 23.93mm, both sides legend in Ahom script with border of dots between two lines, Obv: Kao boi pha leng don heu ciu, Bird on lower right field, Rev: Cau Pha Supungmu ng pin can Lakni Plenki, Lion on lower right field. (Bose S K, E6.5). Extra Fine+, Very Rare.

Assam, Pramatta Simha or Siu Ning Pha (SE 1666-1673 ; 1744-1751 AD), A set of Silver Rupee, ½, ¼, 1/8 1/16 and 1/32 Rupee (6), 11.5 grams, 5.7 grams, 2.8 grams, 1.5 grams, 0.7 grams & 0.4 grams, 22.93mm, 16.40mm, 14.31mm, 11.14mm, 8.33mm & 6.47mm, SE 1667 & 1671, Assamese script on both sides, legend on Rupee Obv: Sri Sri Hara Gauri Charana Kamala Madhu karasya, Rev: Sri Sri Svarga Deva Pramatta Simha Nrpasya with lion running to left on bottom, Very Rare as a set.

Assam, Ahom kingdom – Gold Octagonal Mohur of Rajeshwara Simha (1751-1769), 11.21 grams, 21.52mm x 22.0mm, Farsi legends, Rangpur mint, dated SE1685, Rhodes-Bose O86.1 Obv: Farsi inscription Zad Ain Sikka chu Khursheed Mah / Sultan Sri Rajasar Singh Alam Panah Rev: ‘Julus’ formula for mint-name and Shaka Era date in top left corner; small figure of winged lion after mint-name. Rajeshwara Simha was the first Ahom ruler to strike coins in certain ‘one off’ types – like issues with Farsi script and/or on rectangular flans. The choice of verse inscription is indeed a novelty for Ahom coinage. The legend given by Rhodes-Bose is erroneous; the correct inscription is as given above read by Dr Shailen Bhandare. There are only 2 known specimens of this coin. The second one is at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK.

Nawabs of Bengal – Alivardi Khan (1740 – 1756), silver rupee in the name of Ahmad Shah Bahadur, Murshidabad mint, RY2, cinquefoil mint mark on reverse. RY2 of Ahmad Shah Bahadur began on 8 April (Julian) 1749. This year was a crucial year for the relationship between Alivardi Khan and Raghoji Bhosle, the Maratha general and ruler of Nagpur. The animosity between the two had come to a head in this year and Raghoji, taking advantage of the rift between the Nawab and his courtiers like Mir Habib the governor of Orissa, managed to impose a heavy tribute on him. Negotiations continued for two years and in 1752 a treaty was signed between the Nawab and the Marathas in which the Nawab agreed to pay 15 lac rupees as annual tribute. The coins of Ahmad Shah of Murshidabad mint show a small four-pointed mark on obverse in second line of inscription. It has been suggested that this mark probably has some connection with the dealings between the Nawabs and the Marathas, as from RY3 it is replaced with a sunburst emblem. However this is open for interpretation and by no means a conclusive observation.

Raja of Arakan, Naradibbati / Salim Shah (BE 955-974 / 1593-1612 AD), Silver Tanka, 10.0 grams, 27.19mm, Arabic and Bengali legend on obv and Arakanese legend on rev (G&G RA3).

Chittagong Trade Issue, Silver Tanka, 10.5 grams, 24.88mm, in the name of Vamar Shah, Obv: Al sultan al adil vamar shah khallada allah mulkahu wa sultanahu legend in Arabic, Rev: Shahada. (G&G B1017). Very Fine, Very Rare.

Sikh Feudatory, Bhai Rai Singh, Silver Rupee, 11.40 grams, 20.92mm, Jagadhari Najibabad Mint, in the name of Shah Alam II, AH [12]21, RY 45, Katar as a mint mark on rev. (KM 132), Extra Fine+, Scarce.