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1/2 Anna - Ahalya Bai Sahiba Holkar
| Issuer | Princely state of Indore |
|---|---|
| Year | 1789 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears a stylized Nagari legend reading the name and title of the ruling queen, Ahalya Bai Sahiba Holkar, who reigned from December 1767 to August 1795. The inscription is rendered in bold raised characters against a flat field, flanked by two parallel horizontal lines serving as a decorative border element. The overall style is characteristic of Holkar State copper coinage of the late 18th century, with an informal, hand-engraved quality typical of hammered issues. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Devanagari |
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| Additional information |
Ahalya Bai Holkar, who ruled Indore from 1767 until her death in 1795, issued coinage under her own name — unusual for a woman governing an Indian princely state in the eighteenth century. She had assumed power following the deaths of her husband Khande Rao and father-in-law Malhar Rao, navigating succession disputes and Maratha confederacy politics to consolidate control. Her coins are among the very few pre-colonial Indian issues attributable to a named female ruler rather than issued in a male sovereign's name as a formality.
KM#90.1 is one of several copper varieties documented from her reign, distinguished by die characteristics that collectors and cataloguers have used to sequence her mint output across nearly three decades of rule.