100 Rupees Chhatrapati Shivaji

Issued to commemorate the 325th anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj's coronation at Raigad Fort in 1674, this coin marks the moment the Maratha chieftain formally declared himself Chhatrapati — sovereign ruler — a ceremony deliberately designed to legitimize his rule through Vedic ritual at a time when Mughal authority still dominated much of the subcontinent. The coronation required importing a Brahmin scholar from Varanasi after local priests initially refused to perform the rites for a Kshatriya whose lineage was contested.

The .500 fineness is notably debased for a commemorative, a cost-driven decision that became increasingly common in RBI commemorative programs through the late 1990s.