Madras Mint – Early Coinages – Moghul System – Copper

Pice – Chinapatan Mint

Pridmore discussed these copper coins following an article by Biddulph. However, he did not include them in his catalogue on the grounds that the reading of the mint name was uncertain and that such coins were not recorded in the Madras records. Since then, more specimens have been found and the mint name established as Chīnāpatan without much doubt (Wiggins). Biddulph wrote that he found some of these coins in Mangalore and further specimens have been found in Calicut, which tends to indicate that these coins were intended for use on the west coast (Malabar).

However, the coins remain something of a mystery and it is doubtful if their real place of issue can be established. It is unlikely to be Chīnāpatan but it is possible that they were copied crudely from a Chīnāpatan rupee at a native mint. Most recently they have been recognised as coins of Hyder Alī