Description
British East India Company, the Madras Presidency, Early Coinages, Gold ‘Star’ Pagoda (3.37g, 10mm), Madras mint 1740-1806 AD. Obverse: Half-figure of Vishnu facing forward, cross of beads either side. Reverse: Star in relief surrounded by granulated field. Stevens-1.11; KM-303. A charming star pagoda, struck on a more oval shaped flan with much of the right-hand side cross off flan, a very bold and attractive example nonetheless, good Extremely Fine.
The gold Pagoda of the Madras 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 Eight Shillings 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.