Kutch (1814-19) 1/2 kori
The Indian Princely State of Kutch is located in a flat expanse of salt marshlands on the western border of India along the Arabian Sea. To the west is the Pakistani province of Sind. Though Kutch never could support a large population nor was endowed with natural resources, it remained a power due to its navy and notoriety as a transport hub for pilgrimage to Mecca. Partly due to its geographic isolation, Kutch was able to maintain a unique coinage system from its beginnings through to independence from the British in 1947. The first Kutch coins were modelled after those of Nawanagar, from which Kutch officially gained its autonomy in 1617 AD. This was also the year that Kutch obtained the rights to produce coinage in the name of its own rulers.
Shown is a half kori from the rule of Bharmalji II (1814-1819 AD). It is not dated, though the one kori of this ruler bears the frozen date AH 1165. This date is now assumed to honor not any Mogul ruler as previously, but rather AH 1165 is the year the Afgan ruler, Ahmad Shah, invaded Sind (which the Kutch ruler of the time, Lakhpatji, considered an enemy). The frozen date thus appears to be an honoring of a military alliance, and was used on Kutch coins off and on up to 1819 AD.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: silver, 2.3 g.
Catalog reference: KM 35, Craig 35.
- Bright, Richard, The Coinage of Kutch, Dallas, TX: Numismatics International, 1975.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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