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1 Rupee Muhammad Bahadur Shah II Kotah
| Issuer | Kotah, Princely state of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1837-1857 |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | The obverse displays multiple horizontal lines of Persian-Nastaliq script in the field, presenting the royal legend in Arabic calligraphy. The inscription reads the auspicious coinage formula invoking Muhammad Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor, styled as 'Sahib Qiran Thani' (Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction, Second). The legends are struck in characteristic hammered style with bold, slightly irregular strokes across the flan. The coin exhibits typical die characteristics of Kotah princely state issues, with the script occupying most of the coin's surface. The field shows the natural irregularity associated with hand-struck coinage of the period. |
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| Mintage | ND (1837-1857) |
| Additional information |
Kotah's rupees struck under the nominal authority of Bahadur Shah II present one of the more politically awkward coinages of the late Mughal period. By 1837, the Mughal emperor's name carried almost no actual sovereign weight — the British East India Company controlled the subcontinent's finances and military, while Bahadur Shah II himself was essentially a pensioned figurehead in Delhi. Kotah, a Rajput state under Company suzerainty, continued issuing in his name purely by convention.
The series ends abruptly at 1857 — the year of the Uprising, after which Bahadur Shah II was tried, exiled to Rangoon, and his name removed from coinage across the subcontinent.