1 Rupee - Shah Alam II Muradabad mint

Shah Alam II's authority over coin production during this period was largely nominal. By the late 1770s, the Mughal emperor had been blinded and effectively held captive — first by the Marathas, then under varying degrees of coercion by other regional powers — while mints like Muradabad continued striking coins in his name as a political convenience rather than any acknowledgment of real imperial control. Awadh's nawabs found it advantageous to maintain the fiction of Mughal suzerainty on their coinage, legitimizing their own authority through association.

The Muradabad mint operated under shifting administrations throughout this era, which accounts for the subtle die variations collectors encounter across this type.