Kashmir VS1948 rupee
This specimen was lot 75236 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice Online Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2025), where it sold for $288. The catalog description[1] noted, "INDIA. Kashmir. Rupee, VS 1948 (1891). Pertab Singh (under Victoria as Empress). PCGS MS-64. The sole finest graded example yet certified by PCGS." This type was struck VS 1942-1952. Some have garbled or mismatched dates (VS 1948 on one side and VS 1949 on the other). We don't know why the Kashmiri rupee weighed only half that of the British Indian rupee. The SCWC prices all the dates the same; this example realized over five times the catalog value. The Vikram Samvat calendar is 57 years ahead of the AD date altho it starts in April rather than January 1. Pratap Singh ruled 1884-1925.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: 6.65 g, silver.
Catalog reference: KM-Y24.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]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.
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