Hamburg's merchants had long dominated trade with the Indian subcontinent, and this trial piece represents an attempt to produce a coin calibrated to the tola — the traditional Indian unit of weight used by moneylenders and bazaar traders across the subcontinent. The 2½ tola denomination was designed to compete directly with British trade coinage in South Asian markets. It never entered production.
Schaaf records only a handful of specimens. The copper-nickel composition itself was likely chosen as a test against the silver issues being evaluated simultaneously for the same denomination.
Hamburg's merchants had long dominated trade with the Indian subcontinent, and this trial piece represents an attempt to produce a coin calibrated to the tola — the traditional Indian unit of weight used by moneylenders and bazaar traders across the subcontinent. The 2½ tola denomination was designed to compete directly with British trade coinage in South Asian markets. It never entered production.
Schaaf records only a handful of specimens. The copper-nickel composition itself was likely chosen as a test against the silver issues being evaluated simultaneously for the same denomination.