2 Paisa - Sayaji Rao III Baroda

Sayaji Rao III came to the Baroda throne as a young boy in 1875, selected by the British after they deposed his predecessor Malhar Rao for gross misrule — including an alleged attempt to poison the British Resident. Under close imperial oversight, Sayaji Rao grew into one of the more administratively ambitious rulers in western India, overhauling Baroda's revenue and education systems during the very decade this copper was being struck.

Baroda maintained its own mint and coinage rights throughout the princely period, a privilege many smaller states had already surrendered by this point.