Mughal Empire AH 1217/44 rupee KM-675
This specimen was lot 73611 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2023), where it sold for $240. The catalog description[1] noted, "INDIA. Mughal Empire. Rupee, AH 1217 Year 44 (1788). Saharanpur Mint. Shah Alam II. NGC MS-62. Delivering nice eye appeal and strong luster this piece is quite nice, despite some evidence of handling on the surfaces." The Mughal Empire dominated India during the seventeenth century but broke up in the eighteenth century under external attack, Hindu rebellion and civil war. This collapse allowed European colonizers entry into the subcontinent and eventual British control. This type is listed in the SCWC for years 32-42 and is priced about double that of a common mint such as Akbarabad or Shajahanabad. Mughal control of Saharanpur was purely nominal at this time, the province having been conquered by the Rohillas in the 1740's and contested between them and the Marathas in the 1780's. The British annexed the town in 1803.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 11.0-11.6 g, silver.
Catalog reference: KM-675.
- 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.
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