EIC, Madras Presidency, silver Rupee, Chinapatan, AH 1121, year 3, ex Puddester.

India, British India, East India Company, Madras Presidency, Mughal-style silver Rupee, in the name of Shah Alam I Bahadur (AH 1119-24/1707-12), Chinapatan, AH 1121, yr 3 [1709/10], shah alam badshah ghazi sanah 1121 [Shah Alam, victorious Emperor, 1121], rev. zarb chinapatan sanah 3 julus [Struck at Chinapatan in the 3rd year of his reign], 11.62g, 9h (Prid. 121 [not in Sale]; Stevens 2.17; KM. A302). A little discolouration on reverse, otherwise extremely fine and well-centred, full flan, clear mint and date. NGC XF45.

NGC Certification 6322252-066

Provenance:

Ex Puddester Collection, Part One, Noonans, 8-9 February, 2023, Lot 57

Facing competition, sabotage and attempted assassination from other European companies, the agents of the East India Company sought various locations for strongholds, trading-centres and factories. In 1640 Fort St George was established on what was then uninhabited land, and an EIC mint was striking local-style coinage, Pagodas and Cash, by 1643. When the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb conquered the state of Golconda in 1687, Mughal-style coinage began to be used in the south of India. To facilitate trade, the East India Company negotiated permission from the emperor to strike Mughal-style coins in the area, in 1692. Initially the mint name on these coins was Chinapatan, the local name for Madras which is now the metropolis Chennai.