Stephen Album Rare Coins
Auction 16 17-18 May 2013
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MUGHAL: Shah Jahan III, 1759-1760, AR rupee (11.26g), Multan, AH1173 year one (ahad), KM-475.x, Wig--, very clear name, mint & date, 2 small testmarks, VF, RRRR.
Multan recognized the advancing Maratha forces towards the middle of AH1173 (1759) -- It had been conquered by the Durrani army several years before that. The Maratha governor, Bapuji Trimbak, oversaw the defence of Multan and authorized the issue of Maratha coinage in the name of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II, and these rupees are dated AH1173 year 7 (Wiggins T1 & T2, also ANS 1927-179.383), an extremely rare issue not listed by KM, neither as Mughal or Maratha.
The Maratha forces were expelled from Multan in November 1759 (11 Rabi' I - 10 Rabi' II 1173), and the city was once again brought under Durrani control very shortly thereafter. Shah Jahan III was enthroned as the Mughal Emperor on the same day as the death of Alamgir II (8 Rabi' II 1173, 29 November 1759). It is not known exactly when Durrani authority was fully restored in Multan, but this piece, in the name of Shah Jahan III, strongly suggests that the local administrators continued to recognize the severely weakened Mughal rule in opposition to Durrani authority, apparently long enough for a few rupees to be issued in the name of Shah Jahan III.
Estimate: 1200-1500 USD
Multan recognized the advancing Maratha forces towards the middle of AH1173 (1759) -- It had been conquered by the Durrani army several years before that. The Maratha governor, Bapuji Trimbak, oversaw the defence of Multan and authorized the issue of Maratha coinage in the name of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II, and these rupees are dated AH1173 year 7 (Wiggins T1 & T2, also ANS 1927-179.383), an extremely rare issue not listed by KM, neither as Mughal or Maratha.
The Maratha forces were expelled from Multan in November 1759 (11 Rabi' I - 10 Rabi' II 1173), and the city was once again brought under Durrani control very shortly thereafter. Shah Jahan III was enthroned as the Mughal Emperor on the same day as the death of Alamgir II (8 Rabi' II 1173, 29 November 1759). It is not known exactly when Durrani authority was fully restored in Multan, but this piece, in the name of Shah Jahan III, strongly suggests that the local administrators continued to recognize the severely weakened Mughal rule in opposition to Durrani authority, apparently long enough for a few rupees to be issued in the name of Shah Jahan III.
Estimate: 1200-1500 USD