½ Rupee - Rao Lakhpatji 1169 (1756)

Weight

5.66 g

Diameter

NA

Thickness

NA

Material

Silver

Shape

Round

Edge Type

NA

Technique

Milled

Front design

Couplet of Ruler names, Ahmad Shah Durrani and Rao Lakhpatji

Back design

Name of King and Regnal Year, separated by trident like mark - a characteristic of several coinage series of this issuer.

Year of Minting

1169 (1756)

Emperor

Alamgir II (1754-1759)

Mint location

NA

Mint mark

NA

Orientation

Medal alignment ↑↑

Inscriptions

Obverse: Sikka zad bar Seem wa Zar az Awj Mahi ta ba-Mah 1169 Reverse: Zarb Bhujnagar sanah 9 Miraja Raja Maharau Shri Lakhpati

Context

Catalogue: DR-K 101.1 Issued inAH 1169/RY 9 This coin is a highly unusual piece of the Numismatic history of Kutch. The reign of Lakhpatji I was marked by peace and prosperity. However, the political picture across India was very different at this time - the ambitions of Ahmad Shah Durrani the Afghan ruler were threatening North India. His expedition to upper Sindh in 1752 had already sounded alarm bells in Kutch. Probably as a measure to pacify the highly fearful Shah, Lakhpatji resorted to strike coins in his name, thereby nominally acknowledging his sovereignty. It is interesting to note that the dates on these ceremonial coins is AH1169 which is a year in advance of Ahmad Shah's 4th invasion of India in which he occupied Delhi. Perhaps, Lakhpatji was being very cautious about the Shah's intentions, which is a rare instance of political wisdom shown by a weak but prosperous ruler in view of an impending crisis. - CNG

Rarity

Ultra rare

Coin type

Standard circulation

In circulation

No

Demonetized

Yes

Marketplace listings

0