Paisa - Shah Alam II Maratha Confederacy

Shah Alam II was a Mughal emperor in name only — blinded by the Afghan warlord Ghulam Qadir in 1788, he spent much of his reign as a prisoner or puppet of successive powers, including the Marathas, who controlled him directly from 1771 and again after 1771 Panipat's aftermath reshaped northern Indian politics. The Confederacy struck coins in his name as a political instrument, borrowing Mughal legitimacy to legitimize their own authority across territories where Mughal coinage remained the accepted currency standard.