The Bombay Mint was ceded to the English Crown by Portugal as part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry in 1661, then leased to the East India Company for £10 per year in 1668. This rupee dates to a period when the Company was still struggling to establish Bombay as a viable trading base — the island was malarial, underpopulated, and commercially marginal compared to Surat. The references KM#Pn2 and Pr#22 classify this as a pattern or proof strike, meaning it almost certainly never entered general circulation.
The Bombay Mint was ceded to the English Crown by Portugal as part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry in 1661, then leased to the East India Company for £10 per year in 1668. This rupee dates to a period when the Company was still struggling to establish Bombay as a viable trading base — the island was malarial, underpopulated, and commercially marginal compared to Surat. The references KM#Pn2 and Pr#22 classify this as a pattern or proof strike, meaning it almost certainly never entered general circulation.