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1 Rupee
| Issuer | Maratha Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1674-1818 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 5.30 mm |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by bold Arabic/Persian calligraphic legend arranged in two horizontal registers, separated by a raised linear border. The main inscription panel is flanked above and below by additional epigraphic bands featuring cursive Naskh-style script with dotted diacritical marks. The overall design follows the Mughal-derived rupee format adopted by the Maratha mints, with the irregular flan characteristic of hammered coinage. The relief is high and the lettering, though partially off-flan, is rendered in a confident, deeply struck style typical of Maratha silver issues. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Maratha rupee presents a genuine attribution challenge: the confederacy never operated as a single minting authority, and coins were struck across a patchwork of semi-autonomous mints at Poona, Nagpur, Nasik, and elsewhere, each with its own die-cutting traditions. Many issues were struck in the name of the Mughal emperor as a matter of political convention long after Mughal power had effectively collapsed — a fiction maintained because it lent legitimacy to circulation across territories that still recognized Mughal weight standards.
Shivaji's original monetary reform in 1674 established the hon in gold as the prestige issue, but the silver rupee remained the practical instrument of revenue collection and military pay throughout the confederacy's expansion.