Maratha AH 1199/27 rupee KM-300
This specimen was lot 73632 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2023), where it sold for $80. The catalog description[1] noted, "INDIA. Maratha Confederacy. Rupee, AH 1199 Year 27 (1784). Bindraban Mint. In the name of Shah Alam II. NGC AU-58. Almost indistinguishable from Mint State, wear is extremely difficult to detect, even on the high points of the characters. Bright luster is mildly subdued by pleasing amber-gray and russet hues. Difficult to locate in any grade, this Rupee must be a welcome sight for Maratha Confederacy specialists." The second specimen was lot 75233 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice Online Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2025), where it sold for $168. The catalog description[2] noted, "INDIA. Bindraban. Rupee, AH 1199 "Year 27" (1785). In the name of Shah Alam II. PCGS MS-63." The Marathas were an alliance of Hindu princely families formed to resist the encroachment of the Mughal Empire in the seventeenth century. Major names included the Peshwas, the Gaekwars, the Bhonslas, the Holkars and the Sindhias, all of whom formed independent states when the confederacy broke up at the end of the eighteenth century. This rupee was struck in the name of the Mughal emperor at the Bindraban mint during years 26-43 (AH 1198-1208). It is priced about double a common mint such as Jhansi or Ajmer. The Marathas operated over thirty mints at this time.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 11.6-11.8 g, silver.
Catalog reference: KM 300. listed as KM 10.1 under Bindraban state.
- Album, Stephen, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd Ed. Santa Rosa, Stephen Album Rare Coins, 2011.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, February 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the David Sterling Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, May 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction: Ancient & World Coins, featuring selections from the Sydney F. Martin Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
Link to:
- Maratha AH 1177/3 rupee Kora mint
- Maratha AH 1198/26 rupee KM-300 Bindraban mint
- Maratha AH 1207/34 rupee Saharanpur mint
- Bindraban 1859 1/4 rupee
- Coins and currency dated 1784