Bhopal (1774)/16 1/4 rupee
This specimen was lot 2640 in Steve Album Auction 51 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2025), where it sold for $90. The catalog description[1] noted, "BHOPAL: AR 1/4 rupee, Bhopal, year 16, in the name of Muhammad Akbar II, lovely toning, VF-XF, R, ex Paul Stevens Collection, ex SARC Auction 24, Lot 1766." This denomination is not listed in the SCWC for the eighteenth century. Many issues, such as this one, have only regnal dates and no AH date. Bhopal was originally a province of the Mughal Empire but a local chieftain claimed independence after Aurangzeb's death. Maratha and Pindari attacks forced his successors to seek British protection and after 1817, acknowledged British supremacy.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 2.75-2.90 g, silver, this specimen 2.72 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Cr-25.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 51, featuring the Howard Daniel III Collection of Asian Coins, the Almer H. Orr III Collection of World Coins and the Joe Sedillot Collection of German Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
Link to: