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1/4 Rupee - Shah Alam II
| Issuer | Bengal Presidency |
|---|---|
| Year | 1790-1793 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse description | The reverse field displays a three-line Persian legend in Naskh script arranged in the standard Mughal mint-and-regnal-year format, separated by a horizontal bar. At the upper portion, the regnal year '١٩' (19) is prominently struck between two floral or asterisk ornaments — a six-petalled rosette to the left and a stylised floral sprig to the right. The central line reads 'Zarb' (struck) above the horizontal bar, while the lower two lines carry the mint name 'Murshidabad' in bold Naskh characters. The complete legend translates as 'Struck at Murshidabad in the 19th regnal year,' referencing the frozen regnal year of Shah Alam II used conventionally by the Bengal Presidency. The flat, milled field is clean with sharply engraved calligraphy. |
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| Additional information |
Shah Alam II was the Mughal emperor in whose name the East India Company struck Bengal Presidency coinage — a political fiction both parties found convenient. The Company gained legitimacy by appearing to operate within Mughal authority; the emperor, blind since 1788 after being mutilated by the Afghan chieftain Ghulam Qadir, retained nominal dignity while exercising no real power over any mint that bore his name.
KM#96 belongs to the Murshidabad series, struck at a moment when the Company was systematically consolidating Bengal's fragmented currency into a unified colonial coinage. The transition to Calcutta-struck issues in the following decade effectively ended this arrangement.