Summary

1/2 Paisa or 5 Cash coin issued by Tipu Sultan in the Mysore State, India
Hammered copper coinage struck at the Puttun (Patan) mint in 1225 AM (1796 AD)

Obverse Description

Within line circle, elephant advancing to right; above Persian letter 'Be'; border of beads (struck over reverse brockage).

Reverse Description

Persian legend giving the mint, Patan, and at the top the AM date 122[4] retrograde.

Edge Description

Plain.

Significance

The long line with a bead below on the obverse above the elephant is the Persian letter 'Be'. Jackson records that this represents the second year of a new dating system which began in the Muludi year AM 1224 (1795 AD). He goes on to suggest that the marking may have related a method of depreciating the coins after the year of issue or even to give them a higher value for a period when the soldiers had just been paid so that they could pay off their debts at the high valuation before the coins reverted to their normal standard. Jackson "Collecting Coins on Mysore", BNJ, 1909, p. 327

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