Hyder Ali was the Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore ruling from 1761 to 1782. During the reign of Krishnaraja Wodeyar-II, Hyder Ali was a Commander in Chief of Mysore. He soon became the de-facto ruler of the Mysore kingdom. He conquered Bednore, Sandra, Sira, Canara and Guti.

On 27th August 1781, The Battle of Pollilure was fought near Kanchipuram, between forces of the Kingdom of Mysore under Hyder Ali and British East India Company forces led by General Eyre Coote. This battle was fought as part of Second Anglo Mysore War.

The company’s forces were divided into two lines, one fighting Hyder Ali’s men and the other against Tipu Sultan. But Hyder Ali’s army faced severe casualties and retreated to Kanchipuram. After the battle, Coote’s men faced a shortage of provisions and thus had to move towards Tripassore. Both the sides retreated in a drawn battle and both claimed victory by firing a salute.

During the reign, Haider Ali issued gold coins of the Pagoda series which depicts Hara Gauri image on the obverse side of the coin and placed the Persian letter ‘He’ which is the initial of his name, on the reverse side of the coin. He also issued half pagodas and fanam in the same style. He introduced copper coins, showing an elephant on the obverse and the date and mint on the reverse side of the coin.

Image Source: Classical Numismatic Gallery