Kutch AH 978 kori KM-20
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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 one kori from the rule of Tamachiji (1655-1666 AD). It has a 'frozen date' of AH 978 (1570 AD), which was a date copied from Nawanagar coins at the time (under Muzaffar III), and does not apparently refer to any specific date of importance within Kutch.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: silver.
Catalog reference: KM 20, Br 20.
- Bright, Richard. The Coinage of Kutch. Dallas, TX: Numismatics International, 1975.
- Krause, Chester L. and Mishler, Clifford, Standard Catalog of World Coins, Seventeenth Century 1601-1700, 2nd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1999.
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