Bengal (1793-1818)/19 1/2 rupee KM-116
This specimen was lot 606 in Stephen Album sale 50 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $3,120. The catalog description[1] noted, ""BENGAL PRESIDENCY: AR 1/2 rupee, Murshidabad, year 19, East India Company issue in the name of Shah Alam II, toothed borders, plain edge, struck in Calcutta with frozen date and mint, a wonderful lustrous example! NGC graded Proof 64, RR." This type was struck with a frozen date. While the Mughal Empire lasted, the British in Bengal were careful to strike coinage in the emperor's name. Only the coppers showed the arms of the East India Company. The weight reported below, taken from the SCWC, seems a little light.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 2.8 g, 0.917 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-116, Stv-9.10, Prid-181.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Stevens, Paul, The Coins of the English East India Company, Presidency Series: A Catalogue and Pricelist. London, Spink & Son Ltd, 2017.
- [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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