Description
British East India Company, the Bengal Presidency, Gold Mohur (12.36g, 26mm), AH1202 ‘frozen’ regnal year 19, ‘Murshidabad’, Calcutta mint circa 1793-1818 AD, struck in the name of Shah Alam II. Obverse: Legend in Persian, naming the Mughal emperor as well as the year in Anno Hegirae, “sikka zad bar haft kishwar sāya fazl ilāh hāmī dīn Muhammad shah ‘ālam bādshāh 1202”. Reverse: Legend in Persian as obverse, naming ‘Murshidabad’ and the regnal year, “zarb murshīdābād sanah 19 julūs maimanat mānūs”. Edge: Oblique right grain milling. Stevens-4.3. Minor die break on obverse and some underlying hairlines, otherwise bold detail, good Extremely Fine.
The gold Mohur of the Bengal Presidency, a sub-division of the British Empire in India, was one of the denominations chosen during the Australian Proclamation of 1800 by Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales. It had a high face value of One Pound Seventeen Shillings 6 Pence in order to disincentivize the removal of currency from within the Australian colonies. This coin, although a type struck by the Honourable British East India Company for use within British India, is still considered a piece of Australia’s early colonial history as a proclamation piece.
The obverse Persian legend has an English translation of “Defender of the religion of Muhammad, Shah ‘Alam Emperor, Shadow of the divine favour, put his stamp on the seven climes, anno hegirae 1202”. The reverse Persian legend has an English translation of “Struck at Murshidabad in the 19th year of his reign of tranquil prosperity”.