1 Rupee - Mahmud Shah

Mahmud Shah's tenure was anything but stable — he ruled twice, separated by the usurpation of his brother Shuja al-Mulk, and the coins struck under his name span both periods of his fractured reign. The Durrani empire he nominally led was already fragmenting under pressure from Sikh expansion in the east and internal tribal rivalries that no amount of silver coinage could paper over.

Afghan rupees of this period were struck by hand at provincial mints, producing the characteristic irregular flans and off-center strikes that collectors either embrace or avoid entirely.