Coins struck by the British at Monghyr
Dr Paul Stevens
In 1761 the Nawab of Bengal, Mir Kasim Ali Khan, moved
his capital from Murshīdābād to Monghyr. He built himself a
palace and reorganised his army along European lines and ran the Government of
Bengal from there in a way that appears to have been approved of by his
subjects. However, he soon fell out with the British at Calcutta who had begun
abusing their ability in order to avoid paying taxes and they resented the fact
that the Nawab took steps to try to stop the practice. A British army was sent
to Monghyr and captured the fort in October 17631. Thenceforth, the
town became part of British India and, for many years, continued to contain an
arsenal but no regular garrison.
Monghyr was noted for its fine situation and pure air
and gained a reputation as a health resort with, inter alia, Warren Hastings leaving his wife there when she was
ill. In the nineteenth century it was used as an invalid station for soldiers
and even contained a lunatic asylum for sepoys2.
There has been some debate about whether or not the
British issued coins from the Monghyr mint after they captured the fort.
Extremely rare mohurs and rupees exist dated 1176 RY 4 with the mint name
Monghyr and no later coins were known from this mint3. The Hijri
year 1176 finished on the 11th of July 1763, before the British
captured the place. These coins would, therefore, have been issued by the Nawab
from his mint at Monghyr. Only coins dated 1177 or later would have been issued
by the British and none of these was known up until now. The records held in
the British Library have not yielded any evidence for the British issuing coins
from Monghyr but at least one entry suggests that the mint was still open at
the start of November 1763, although it could be referring to coins issued
earlier. The letter is dated 1st November 1763, when the Calcutta
mint master wrote4
… the strictest care has been ever had to
keep the Calcutta rupee up to the same weight and fineness as what are coined
at Moorshedabad and Mongheer...
and,
in 1775, Monghyr rupees were still available in the bazaar5
…You will please further to inform the
Board that the sicca rupees which are seen in the weekly state of the Treasury
are Mongheer siccas…
Recently, a friend sent a photo of a newly discovered
coin of the Monghyr mint bearing the date AH 11776. Whilst it is
possible that this coin was struck during the period from late July to early October
1763, it seems possible that it was struck after that date (RY 4 ended on 17th
October) and would therefore be the first known coin issued from this mint
whilst under the authority of the East India Company. This coin, therefore,
makes it more likely that the mint continued in operation after it had been
captured by the British, although it requires a coin showing RY 5 to make it
certain.
Rupee of Monghyr dated AH 1177, RY 4
Weight = 11.59g. Diam approx.22mm
References
1. Bengal Public Consultations. IOR P/1/36,
2. O’Malley LSS, (1909), Bengal District Gazetteers,
Monghyr.
3. Stevens PJE, The Coins of the Bengal Presidency (1012). Baldwin & Sons Ltd.
4. Bengal Public Consultations. IOR P/1/36, p. 389.
5. Bengal Consultations. IOL P/2/10,
6. My sincere thanks to Noman Nasir, who sent me the
photo of, and information about, the coin.