Bombay Mint – Silver Fifth Rupees (Fanams). Obverse D1

Obv D1. On this variety the word in the top line seems to be manoos, which one would expect as the top line on the reverse given the usual legend arrangement. This obverse type is also noteworthy for a most peculiarly engraved ‘5’. The vertical shank of the numeral is at its longest here and that gives the numeral a very lanky appearance. The partial letters seen on the bottom line are remnants of mubarak, which makes this design stylistically closer to obverse 2. Also noteworthy is the shape of the ‘knot’ in the top line and the way it curves in a sigmoid fashion towards the end of the stroke. There is no chronological detail, not even in a vestigial form.

Obv D1	Obv D1