1 Rupee - Ahmad Shah Bahadur

Ahmad Shah Bahadur, the Mughal emperor whose name this coin bears, was a largely powerless figurehead by the time these rupees were struck at Madras — the Maratha Confederacy and regional nawabs had effectively fragmented Mughal authority across the subcontinent. The Madras Presidency continued issuing coinage in his name as a matter of commercial convention, since Mughal-style rupees remained the trusted trade currency across southern Indian markets regardless of who actually held power.

The years of this issue overlap directly with the Second Carnatic War, during which Madras itself faced French military pressure under Dupleix.