Watch List notes:

India, East India Company, William IV, mohur, 1835, Calcutta, bare head r., R.S. incuse on truncation, rev. lion and palm tree, milled edge (KM.451.2; Fr.1593; Pr.9), in plastic holder, graded by PCGS as Mint State 62, boldly struck with exceptionally fine surfaces and strong borders, extremely rare Without the exploits of Clive of India a century before, this valuable gold coin would never have existed. More than anything else, the coin is a monetary statement of power over a vast area of the world. Clive's long involvement led to the domination of India by the East India Company, which extracted untold riches from the country for a century, until in 1857-58 the Sepoy Mutiny led to control of the subcontinent by Britain. William IV's portrait appears on this coin but in its day it was little more than obeisance to the Crown. Perhaps the lion beneath the over-arching palm tree on the reverse of the coin was symbolic of the Company's control, if not just an expression of British power, but in any case it remains today one of the most engaging of images from the 19th century.

Estimate: £12,000-15,000