Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

COINS

HEAVIEST GOLD COIN

THE PORTUGUESE INDIA COINAGE Vasco-da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, first visited India in 1498 A.D. After his return to Portugal the entire sea trade with India for over a century monopolised enjoyed by the Portuguese who held control over a number of islands and small ports on the western coast of India. However, they were confined to the ports

of Daman, Diu and Goa till they were finally liberated in 1961. They issued coins (Fig-13) of the currency they had in their homeland but bearing distinct marks to separate them from their homeland cur- rency. In the last part of their coinage known as colonial coinage the words “In- dia Portugueza” were extensively used on the coins.

THE DUTCH-INDIAN COINAGE

The United East India Company of the Netherlands was the real successor tothe Portuguese in India. They had a good hold over vasttracts of land and sea. However, they lost to the British under the able leadership of Robert Clive who could be considered the founder of the British empire in India. They started losing their foothold and started ceding territories to the British and were com- pletely routed from India in 1824, when their last territory Pullicat was ceded to the British. Few varieties of coins were issued by them locally. The Dutch East India Company issued coins minted their homeland mints with the provincial monogram on the obverse and the monogram of the company on the reverse.

Duriba Dar al-Khilalafat Agra sanat-i julus 8 mutabiq bi-sanat 1022 Hijri

Zi fayz didan muhur-u/ hazar naw beche ash

Has been struck at the Abode of the Caliphat in Agra eighth regnal year corresponding to Hijri year 1022

From the great gift of seeing his new-born thousand mohur

THE DANISH INDIA

COINAGE The Danish Asiatic Company which was formed in 1616 A.D. continued its trade at the sea port of TRANQUEBAR on the south coast of India. For more than two centuries the Danes did trade with India. Some gold coins were struck at Copenhagen for circulation in India. They continued their operations upto 1845 when they finally sold everything to the British. The Danish issued coins in lead known as KAS (Fig-14). They also used copper, silver and gold in their coinage.

Fig-14 Obverse

Bi-Nam Nami o bad/ Sikka wa Khutba

Hazar bar bibatazz/ zi zevq Nur-u-Nazar

The Radiant Vision delights itself one thousand times

May Coinage and the Khutba be in his Famous Name

Reverse

Berher ta bud ez/ Sikka wa zi Khutba. eser

THE FRENCH INDIA COINAGE

So long as trace of Coin and Khutba exist in time

During the reign of Louis XIV in the year 1664 A.D the French established 'Campagnic des Indes Orientales'. The French issued coins (Fig-15) on behalf of the Mughal rulers and in the year 1723 A.D. they issued their own coins bearing the symbol of Crown on one side in silver, copper and bronze and five-fleur-de-lys or 1730 inscribed on the other side. The French also issued

of Nizam-I-Mulk Asaf Jah, the founder of the dynasty which ruled Hyderabad. Jehangir had ordered the issue of the world's largest coins in the denomination of 200,500 and 1000 mohurs (a mohur was a gold coin of about 11 grams). There are records of the issue of two coins of 1000 mohurs. The first one was called "The Star of Destiny" (Kaw-Kab-i-tali) and was given to Yadgir Ali, the Ambassador of the Shah of Iran in 1612.