World coins chat: Indian States

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Indian States in Numista can be divided into the following sub-divisions,

1. Sultanates : Delhi, Bengal, Gujarat, Jaunpur, Malwa, Bahmani etc.

2. Independent Kingdoms: Mysore, Vijaynagar, Assam, Maratha Empire, Sikh Empire etc.

3. Indian Princely States: The ruling authorities Mostly under British empire

Note: Indian States also includes coins of Licchavi kingdom, which should be part of Nepal.

1. Sultanates:
From 12th century AD when Mohammad Ghori first conquered delhi, the Muslim states began forming in India. The islamic empires began setting up in northern india first and then gradually started moving south. Indian sultanates were prominent until the Mughal empire was able to subdue most of them annexing them to its empire by mid 16th century during the rule of Aurangzeb.

Coinage:
Initially during the rule of Mohammad Ghori and rulers of Slave Dynasty the motif of the coin was directly copied from hindu rajput coins. For example please see the below coin of Momd. Ghori with style (laxmi sitting) copied from rajput coins and nagari text. But progressively the coins became more islamic in nature with persian text replacing nagari.


(Coin of Mohammad Ghori)

The Sultanate issues are mostly found in Copper, Silver and Gold. Though an exception would be some issues of Muhammad bin Tughluq which were made in brass and billon. Coins of Delhi, Gujarat and Jaunpur sultanates are relatively easy to find specially the copper issues.

2. Independent Kingdoms:
Independent kingdoms (in numista terminology) mostly constitutes of hindu kingdoms which rules on various parts of india from 14th Century till 18th century. These kingdoms existed during the ruling of Mughals and British as well. The sikh empire came into prominence after Aurangzeb's death and controlled a large area of northern india during the ruling of Ranjit Singh. Sikh empire was annexed into British empire after the Anglo-Sikh wars. The Maratha empire was formed by Shivaji in 1674 AD and was in existence until 1818 AD (Second Anglo-Maratha War). The Marathas are credited to a large extent for ending the Mughal rule in India.

Coinage:
The coinage of each of the independent kingdoms varied a lot between themselves in terms of motif, style, legend. The coins of Maratha empire were mostly in Copper and silver with legends in Nagari or mostly persian. Coins of sikh empire had both gurumukhi and persian legends on them. Gold coins from both marathas and sikh empire are rare and very expensive. Octagonal Coins of assam are peculiar of that region and thus highly sought after.



(Coin of Sikh Empire)

On the other hand coins of vijaynagar were in nagari or Kannada legend). Interestingly vijayanagara coins are found mostly in copper and gold than in silver, this can be related to the scarcity of silver during that period. These coins are some of the most beautiful coins in medieval indian era.


(Coin of vijayanagara empire)


3. Indian Princely States:

The term princely state specifically refers to a semi-sovereign principality on the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by a local ruler under a form of indirect rule. These princely states controlled various portions of indian subcontinent and had varied level of actual control during British era. The era of the princely states effectively ended with Indian independence in 1947. By 1950, almost all of the principalities had acceded to either India or Pakistan – nine to Pakistan and the rest to India. The accession process was largely peaceful except in the cases of Jammu & Kashmir whose king decided to accede to India, but only after an invasion by Pakistan-based tribal militia and Hyderabad, whose ruler opted for total independence in 1947, resulting in the forced annexation of the state to India.

Coinage:
Coins of princely states were issued in most of the states before British uniform coinage started from 1862. Though some states like Gwalior, Hyderabad issued their own coins up until indian independence. For some states like Alwar, bikanir etc the standard british coin design was modified slightly to add the name of the state while keeping the design, size and weight exactly same as that of India-British coinage. Interestingly some states like Jodhpur used hammered coins well into 20th century which makes it hard to recognize as a modern coin by novice coin collectors. The princely states coins differed a lot in language used which varied between nagari, persian, urdu, english etc depending on which state issued them.


(Coin of Dewas Junior Branch, From H.A.)

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/inde_princiers-1.html
“A man without a hobby is only half alive.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Thanks for clarifying a bit of a categorisation in this very broad field of numismatics. Would it be an idea to zoom in a bit more into some major states? Let me perhaps start with Hyderabad, which issued its own coins up until Indian independence in 1947.
Quote: "jokinen"​Thanks for clarifying a bit of a categorisation in this very broad field of numismatics. Would it be an idea to zoom in a bit more into some major states? Let me perhaps start with Hyderabad, which issued its own coins up until Indian independence in 1947.
​That would be great!
“A man without a hobby is only half alive.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Thanks suijit written great.

British india has has been a focal point for me since I decided British colonial was the way to go for me. My favourite princely states coins are the British struck types in similar to standard Indian coins.
I have all types now just need the Dewas J.B 1/4 Anna & 1/12 Anna. Which are a nightmare to find ( a few years ago I decided some I saw on eBay were too expensive and now I am kicking myself)

there not all in great condition but they are pricey in high grades !





















And I have some with just the names written like this bundi rupee .

Here is my Dewas JB 1/4 Anna. Was happy to find it last month at a decent price.
https://static-numista.com/forum/images/56aa8acaa00cc.jpg
https://static-numista.com/forum/images/56aa8b18b4639.jpg
Ma collection de Révolutionnaires - My coins from the French Revolution
Where did you find that ?? I haven't seen one in over a year now !
On a public auction from a German dealer.
Ma collection de Révolutionnaires - My coins from the French Revolution
Well done ! Quite jealous !
Hyderabad

Hyderabad was a state in India from 1724 until 1948. From 1796 it was a British protectorate. Hyderabad State was founded by the Nizams who originally came from Central Asia during the Mughal Empire. With the latter disintegrating in the early 18th century, the Nizam established Hyderabad State in southern central India.


Location of Hyderabad in British India (1909)


Flag of Hyderabad


During the 18th century the neighbouring Maratha Empire fought a lot of wars with Hyderabad limiting its independence. In 1796 it sought protection from the British and was thus awarded the status of princely state.

The population of Hyderabad had a Hindu majority, but its rulers and elites were Muslim. During the Partition of India the Nizam chose to join neither India nor Pakistan, but to remain independent. With Hyderabad completely landlocked in India and with a Hindu majority of 85%, the rulers in Delhi chose to use force in order to subdue the Nizam in 1948. After a few days of military intervention the Nizam surrendered.

Currency and coins
Hyderabad had its own Rupee throughout its existence. Like the Indian Rupee, it was subdivided in 16 Annas each of 12 Pie/Pai, but its value was slightly less: 7 Hyderabad Rupees bought 6 Indian Rupees.

Coins were used of 1 and 2 Pai, Half Anna, 1, 2, 4 and 8 Anna and 1 Rupee. Gold coins of higher denominations existed as well. These coins were struck until 1947 and only demonetised in 1959.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/inde_princiers-6.html#devise806
@Mark, Those are some of the very scarce coins to get in any grade, Well done!!

@jokinen, A very nice IPS to chose from. The Hyderabad nizam was the wealthiest man in the world In 1930's!

Hare's a coin from Hyderabad. Hyderabad coins are superb design and generally very high in quality of minting.



Hyderabad 1943 , 4 Annas

On a side note, Joseph has recently enhanced the Hyderabad coin pages with very nice details and explained the legend. Worth taking a look!
“A man without a hobby is only half alive.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Travancore

Travancore was a kingdom on the south west tip of the Indian subcontinent that existed from 1729 until 1949, when it acceded the Indian Union.



The Travancore Kingdom was renowned for being the first South Asian power to defeat a European force during the Travancore-Dutch war in 1741 that was fought over pepper concessions. It also often allied itself with the British East India Company to defend itself against the neighbouring Mysore Kingdom. Travancore became an EIC protectorate in 1795, and thus an Indian princely state under the British Raj.


Flag of Travancore

The last King of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, was renowned for taking many progressive socio-economic steps developing education, healthcare and social equality. During the Partition of India, he initially wished to remain independent, but after concessions from Delhi he opted to join the Indian Union in 1949.

Currency and coins
Travancore had its own Rupee distinct from the British Indian Rupee. Its subdivisions were also different: 1 Travancore Rupee was equal to 7 Panam or 28 Chakrams. Each Chakram was worth 16 Cash. A British Indian Rupee was worth 1 Travancore Rupee and 8 Cash (approx 1.018 TR).

Coins were issued in denominations of 1, 2, 4 and 8 Cash, 1 and 2 Chakrams and quarter, half and one Rupee. These coins circulated until Travancore joined India in 1949.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/inde_princiers-13.html#devise805
@sujit: those explanations on the coin sheets are very insightful! I really like the designs of the 4 coins I own from Hyderabad.
Travancore has produced some of the most beautiful coins with very unique style. Most of their coins features the Shankh (Or conch shell) with legend in english and malayalam.



Travancore (1906-35) 4 Cash


Joseph has added lot of information on the coin pages for travancore.
“A man without a hobby is only half alive.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Kutch

Kutch (or Cutch) was a kingdom since 1154 and princely state from 1819 located in present-day Gujarat at the coastal border of India and Pakistan. The people of Cutch were involved in trading with overseas places such as Oman, Mombasa and Zanzibar.


Flag of the princely state of Kutch

In 1947, Kutch was one of the first princely states to join India.

Currency and coins

Kutch used a completely different currency from British India. The Kori was subdivided in 24 Dokda or 48 Trambiyo. Less used subdivisions were Adlinao (1/2), Payalo (1/4), Dhabu (1/8), Dhinglo (1/16) and Babukiya (1/96). One Rupee was worth 3.5 Kori, the rate at which the Kori was also converted in 1947.

Hammered coins were struck until the late 19th century, after which machine-made coins were produced of 1 Trambiyo up to 5 Kori in silver and 50 Kori in gold. The legends mentioned both the local king (in Nagari language) and the British Indian emperor (in Urdu language). All coins have the Vikram Samvat (VS) calendar dates which makes them appear like Nepali coins.

As Kutch had a relatively small population of approx 400,000 in 1901 its coins are quite rare, but some coppers do show up now and then.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/inde_princiers-9.html#devise505
Kutch is one of the few states (and countries) which has released coins in the name of Edward the 8th (Edward VIII) in the year 1936 (VS 1992/3)




Kutch 1947 "Jai Hind" kori coins are also much sought after among coin collectors.
“A man without a hobby is only half alive.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Hi guys,
This is my first post here. I just started collecting world coins recently and find this site to be indispensable.
I just got the same coin that sujit_kumar posted in his 1st post above, the 1943 Hyderabad 1/4 Rupee coin. I noticed that on Numista this coin isn't shown, just the 1 Rupee coin that looks almost identical except for the symbol in the center of the reverse, which I assume means 1/4 as opposed to 1, correct? If 16 Annas = 1 Rupee then saying 4 Annas is the same as saying 1/4 Rupee. Anyway, I can add this coin to the database but I am not 100% convinced that I just can't find it. I find that Indian coins are the most challenging to find in the database because there are so many kingdoms, states, territories, etc.
I also noticed when I try to select the country to search in, I can select Indian states and kingdoms, and there are a lot of sub-choices below that but Hyderabad is not an option. However if I just select Indian states and kingdoms then enter Y 63 you will see the 1 Rupee coin I mentioned above , and it says "Indian states and kingdoms - Hyderabad - Rupee (1762-1950)" so why isn't Hyderabad a choice from the top drop down list? Thanks for your assistance!
Here you go....all of them
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/inde_princiers-9.html#devise806

and your coin....
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces16618.html
Wow! That's a page I've never seen before! Thanks!

I was on this page:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/

Then if you use that drop down list to choose your country, you can select "Indian states and kingdoms" but under that you cannot select Hyderabad as it's not an option. I guess I gotta learn how to find these complete other sections of the site because I could never have found my coin searching from the page I was on.
Anyway, thanks again for the links!
Before the Partition of India in 1947, There were 565 Princely States, also called Native States, existed in India,which were not fully and formally part of British India, the parts of the Indian subcontinent which had not been conquered or annexed by the British but under indirect rule, subject to subsidiary alliances.

Out of these 565 , At least 125 states produced their own coinage, mainly in the period from 1800 to 1900, though a number continued to issue coins until the 1947.

The Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire (also Sikh Khalsa Raj, Sarkar-i-Khalsa or Pañjab (Punjab) Empire) was a major power in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established a secular empire based in the Punjab.The empire existed from 1799, when Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849 and was forged on the foundations of the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous Sikh misls . At its peak in the 19th century, the Empire extended from the Khyber Pass in the west to western Tibet in the east, and from south to Kashmir the north. The religious demography of the Sikh Empire was Muslim (70%), Sikh (17%), Hindu (13%).The population was 3.5 million.

It was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be conquered by the British.



The formation of the empire began with the capture of Lahore, by Ranjit Singh, from its Afghan ruler, Zaman Shah Durrani, and the subsequent and progressive expulsion of Afghans from the Punjab, by defeating them in theAfghan-Sikh Wars, and the unification of the separate Sikh misls. Ranjit Singh was proclaimed as Maharaja of the Punjab on 12 April 1801 (to coincide with Vaisakhi), creating a unified political state of Punjab

When Maharaja Ranjit Singh organized the Sikh Empire, the first coins that were minted under him were dedicated to the first guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The coins minted under him always bore the inscription of leaf of Banyan, a symbol of his empire. During his rule, the coins were minted at eight locations, Amritsar, Anandgarh, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Jammu and Kashmir. It is said that during his tenure, the Sikh currency was valued even higher than the French one!

None of the coins released during his tenure bore his name, which was something unique as compared to most other rulers who used to get their own names inscribed on coins issued by them. At the same time, these coins used to have various symbols like a sword, dagger, lotus flower or any other symbol, mainly symbol of the current governor of the province.
After the death of this great king, Sikh Empire got annexed by the British and most of these coins were confiscated by them. These were then remolded by them and cast into coins dedicated to the Queen Victoria and the British Empire. This is precisely the reason why these coins are very rare to be found.

Ranjit Singh was the last Indian ruler who had the Great Kohinoor Diamond which later came in the hands of British Empire.
coin collector.....
A few years ago I got my first 1/4 anna (1919), the design was stunning.
          'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.'
                                                      Sir Winston Churchill
Quote: "D-Train"​Wow! That's a page I've never seen before! Thanks!

​I was on this page:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/

​Then if you use that drop down list to choose your country, you can select "Indian states and kingdoms" but under that you cannot select Hyderabad as it's not an option. I guess I gotta learn how to find these complete other sections of the site because I could never have found my coin searching from the page I was on.
​Anyway, thanks again for the links!
​Search for India states and under that the various states are listed

Quote: "@josephjk"
Quote: "D-Train"​Wow! That's a page I've never seen before! Thanks!
​​
​​I was on this page:
​​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/
​​
​​Then if you use that drop down list to choose your country, you can select "Indian states and kingdoms" but under that you cannot select Hyderabad as it's not an option. I guess I gotta learn how to find these complete other sections of the site because I could never have found my coin searching from the page I was on.
​​Anyway, thanks again for the links!
​​Search for India states and under that the various states are listed

​When you go to the link I posted you don't see the blue heading that says "Coins from Indian States and Kingdoms" you just see "search for a coin" then you click "advanced search" then drop down the "country" box and scroll down to "Indian states and kingdoms" you will see what I'm referring to. My problem is that I don't know how to find the page you pointed to above without someone here giving me the link. They are 2 completely different starting points. If you don't follow my link and the steps I took you'll never understand what I'm talking about and we'll just go round and round. I start my search for coins from EVERY country from this start page. Maybe that's not always the best choice, it obviously isn't when it comes to Indian states.

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