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1/5 Rupee - Ali Raja
| Issuer | Cannanore, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1709-1826 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field bearing the Arabic pious legend meaning 'Praised be God' (al-hamdu lillah) in bold calligraphic script, arranged within the coin field. The mint date appears below the principal legend in Eastern Arabic numerals. On certain specimens the date appears as 1631, a known engraver's error for the correct Hijri date 1231 (1816 AD). The reverse shares the same hammered, irregular flan character as the obverse, consistent with the broader series struck across multiple Hijri years. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Ali Rajas were the hereditary Muslim rulers of Cannanore on the Malabar Coast, operating as much as merchants and naval powers as territorial lords. Their coinage circulated alongside that of the Arakkal Bibi — the ruling matriarch of the same dynasty — in a political arrangement unusual even by the fragmented standards of pre-colonial Kerala. British pressure steadily eroded the kingdom's autonomy through the late eighteenth century, and the Cannanore mint effectively ceased meaningful production well before the dynasty's formal submission to colonial administration.