1 Paisa - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Shivaji's copper coinage was part of a deliberate assertion of independent rule following his coronation at Raigad in 1674 — the first formal Maratha kingship, conducted against the backdrop of Mughal pressure from Aurangzeb's Deccan campaigns. The decision to strike coin was political before it was economic: issuing currency in one's own name was, under both Hindu and Mughal administrative tradition, an unambiguous claim to sovereignty.

The wide weight range reflects decentralized production across multiple mints operating without rigid standardization.