Catalog
1 Mohar - Prithvi Narayan Shah
| Issuer | Nepal |
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| Year | 1768-1774 |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by a cruciform arrangement of Devanagari legends set within raised linear borders, creating a distinctive grid-like composition characteristic of Nepalese Shah-dynasty mohars. A central circular medallion encloses a floral or lotus rosette motif. The four quadrants of the cross contain the royal inscription naming Prithvi Narayan Shah, with decorative scroll and floral ornaments filling the corner fields. A crescent moon symbol appears at the top of the design, and the entire composition is enclosed within a beaded border. |
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| Obverse lettering | श्री श्री पृथ्वी नारायण शाह देव संवत् १६९२ |
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| Additional information |
Prithvi Narayan Shah unified the Kathmandu Valley's three competing Malla kingdoms between 1744 and 1769, and coinage was an immediate instrument of consolidating that authority. The Mohar had circulated in the valley for generations under separate Malla rulers in Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur, each minting their own issues — replacing them with a single Gorkhali coinage was as much a political act as an administrative one.
KM#454.2 distinguishes itself from the .1 variety by a specific arrangement of the decorative elements in the field, a distinction that matters considerably for attribution given how many related types were struck in rapid succession during these founding years of the Shah dynasty.