Patna is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. It is the second-largest city in Eastern India after Kolkata. During the ancient period, this city was known as Pataliputra. It was the capital of the Magadh Empire under the Haryanka, Nanda, Mauryan, Sunga, Gupta and Pala Empire. Patliputra was the seat of learning and fine arts; it was the home of many astronomers and scholars including Aryabhata, V?tsy?yana and Chanakya.

Patna was ruled by the Mughal Empire during the medieval period. In the year 1574, Mughal Emperor Akbar reached Patna and crushed the rebellious Afghan Chief Daud Khan. In the book ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ written by Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, Patna is referred as a flourishing center for paper, stone and glass industries. Patna used to grow high quality of rice. During 1620 CE Patna was the famous town for trade. This city was also referred to as the largest town in Bengal. This was before the founding of the city of Calcutta.

This silver rupee was issued by Mughal Empire Akbar during the 42nd year of his reign. The obverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Allahu Akbar at the top, Jale Jalaluhu at the bottom’. The reverse of this coin is inscribed Ilahi month ‘Di’ at the top, the mint name ‘Patna’ and ilahi year ‘42’ at the bottom.

Image Courtesy: Todywalla Auction