Summary

1 Rupee, Issued by East India Company, Bengal, India, 1218 AH; RY 17 and 46 (AD 1803-1804)
Minted by Muhammadabad Banaras

Obverse Description

Persian legend (much off flan) with fish and sun and date 1218

Reverse Description

Persian legend (much off flan) with RY dates 17 and 46

Edge Description

Plain

Significance

The obverse of the coins has the Hijri year 1218 but the reverse bore two regnal years (RY) a frozen 17 and a second, 46. The East India Company had insisted on the frozen RY 17 to stop the coins being devalued when a new RY year appeared in circulation. The intention seems to have been miss understood, although the frozen 17 was complied with, the correct RY dating was continued. These coins were called Machhlidar (head of a fish) rupees because their design includes a fish, a badge adopted by Sadat Khan who, shortly before being appointed Subahar of Oudh in 1720, while praying with outstretched arms beside the river Jumma, had a fish leap from the water into his hands. Although the dies depicted a full fish, in most cases only the head half appeared on the coins.

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