1/2 Mohar - Prithvi Bir Bikram

Obverse description	Central field features a trishul (trident) depicted within a small raised circle at the centre of the coin. Surrounding the central motif, the royal legend in Devanagari (Nagari) script reads 'Sri Sri Sri Prithvi Bir Bikram' arranged in four quadrants around the central device. The entire design is enclosed within a plain inner border and an outer beaded border. Small floral or dot ornaments separate the syllabic groups of the legend. The overall design is characteristic of Nepalese milled coinage of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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Reverse script	Devanagari
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Additional information	Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah reigned under the effective control of the Rana prime ministers, a oligarchic regime that had dominated Nepal since Jung Bahadur Rana's seizure of power in 1846. The coinage issued in the king's name during this period was ceremonial in authority if not in circulation — the Ranas controlled the treasury as thoroughly as they controlled the throne. The Mohar had been Nepal's primary silver unit for centuries, its fractions struck to Nepalese weight standards that resisted metrication long after neighboring British India had standardized its own coinage.