Pratapgarh was among the smallest of the Rajput princely states — a feudatory under Mewar before coming under British paramountcy — and continued issuing its own copper coinage well into the twentieth century despite the political upheaval of Indian independence in 1947. This piece, struck under Raghunath Singh, dates to 1953 by the Christian calendar but was recorded in the Vikram Samvat year 1896, the traditional Hindu calendar the state used on its coinage throughout its existence. Pratapgarh acceded to the Indian Union in 1948, making any coinage from 1953 a remarkable administrative anachronism.
Pratapgarh was among the smallest of the Rajput princely states — a feudatory under Mewar before coming under British paramountcy — and continued issuing its own copper coinage well into the twentieth century despite the political upheaval of Indian independence in 1947. This piece, struck under Raghunath Singh, dates to 1953 by the Christian calendar but was recorded in the Vikram Samvat year 1896, the traditional Hindu calendar the state used on its coinage throughout its existence. Pratapgarh acceded to the Indian Union in 1948, making any coinage from 1953 a remarkable administrative anachronism.