Assam SE 1715 rupee
This specimen was lot 567 in Stephen Album sale 50 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $2,160. The catalog description[1] noted, "ASSAM: Sarvvananda Simha, rebel, 1793-1795, AR octagonal rupee, SE1715, obverse royal legend sri sri svarga deva sri sarvvananda simha nrpasya; lovely bold strike, choice XF, RR, ex Nicholas Rhodes Collection." Assam (Ahom Kingdom) began striking coins based on the rupee system in the 1600's. The design elements were borrowed from nearby Cooch Behar, but the octagonal shape was an invention of the Assamese. Sarvvananda Simha was a rebel king who ruled the eastern portion of the Ahom kingdom at the same time as Guarinatha Simha. Sarvvananda, though not of the Ahom royal line, took to striking coins identical to those of the Ahom kings.
Recorded mintage: unknown but scarce.
Specification: 10.7-11.6 g, silver, this specimen 11.29 g.
Catalog reference: KM-307, R&B-X4.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Rhodes, N. G., and Bose, S. K. The Coinage of Assam - Volume II Ahom Period. Kolkata, India: A.O.P Pvt. Ltd., 2004.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 50, featuring selections from the Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection, the Hakim Hamidi Collection, the Almer H. Orr III Collection and the Solar Collection, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
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