Muhammad Imaaduddeen V ruled the Maldives as sultan under British protection, and the early 1900s saw periodic efforts to regularize the archipelago's coinage as the protectorate relationship matured. The lariat denominations in silver were produced in small quantities and the Pn2 reference classification suggests this piece carries pattern or proof status — struck for approval or presentation rather than general release into the atolls' trade economy.
Whether it ever circulated is doubtful. The lariat itself derived from the larín, a fishhook-shaped silver coin once common across the Indian Ocean trade networks.
Muhammad Imaaduddeen V ruled the Maldives as sultan under British protection, and the early 1900s saw periodic efforts to regularize the archipelago's coinage as the protectorate relationship matured. The lariat denominations in silver were produced in small quantities and the Pn2 reference classification suggests this piece carries pattern or proof status — struck for approval or presentation rather than general release into the atolls' trade economy.
Whether it ever circulated is doubtful. The lariat itself derived from the larín, a fishhook-shaped silver coin once common across the Indian Ocean trade networks.