1 Anna

Bhopal was unusual among Indian princely states in being ruled by a succession of female sovereigns — the Begums of Bhopal — for nearly a century. The coins struck under their authority carry that political anomaly quietly in the metal. This issue spans the reigns of Shah Jahan Begum and, toward the end of the range, the early years of her daughter Sultan Jahan Begum's administration, a transition that produced no meaningful break in the coinage type.

The dating follows the Hijri calendar, accounting for the apparent span across what maps to 1869–1883 in the Gregorian system. At over 31 grams, this is a heavy copper struck for local market use rather than any wider circulation.