Hello fellow CT members, I recently acquired this silver rupee and I am trying to pin down its identity. I am totally unfamiliar with these coin types and wow, there seems to be a lot of uncertainty and variation! Here is the coin: Usually my go-to is Numista, but they did not have a particularly close match - the two main areas of difference being the cluster of dots right after the "s o" looking characters on the obverse - and the lack of a dot cluster in between the "19" and the star-like object on the obverse. I have learned that this type is a frozen date, i.e., not identifiable to a particular year. But I cannot seem to find a range given, either. And which mint? The closest I could find is this from NGC: India-British BENGAL PRESIDENCY Rupee KM 98.1 Prices & Values | NGC (ngccoin.com) ...but as you can see, this one still does not match the obverse perfectly in the matter of the dot cluster after the "19". And it does not give much information anyway. I would be mightily obliged if someone here could help me figure out more about this coin!
That has the dot cluster. I looked in a few places and every example I could find had that cluster. Interesting piece.
Yes, I cannot seem to find an exact match anywhere. @chuckylucky5 , that coin you show is the same one given in the NGC link I posted. It's about the closest I've been able to find yet. I'm thinking Calcutta mint? (Even though the coin says Murshidabad, they were struck in a variety of locations.)
According to my British Commonwealth Coins, 1971, the East India Co.silver rupees from the Bengal Presidency were produced between 1793 and 1835. The cinquefoil, to the left of the '19' is the mark used by Murshedabad, Calcutta, Patna and Dacca. Coins with an oblique miled edge were struck between 1793 and 1813; those with a straight milled edge from 1818 to 1832, and plain edged between 1832 and 1835.
