2021-10-01 Fri

Junagadh had close nexuses with the princely houses of Radhanpur, Balasinor, Bantva, Manavadar, and Sardargarh. Usman Khan Babi, the descendant of the Usmankhel came to India. His son, Sher Khan Babi was the Mughal governor of Gujarat subah and established Junagadh state after the Maratha Gaekwad invasion.

He and his successors conquered large areas of southern Saurashtra. They ruled for the next two centuries as a Maratha tributary and from 1807 came under British suzerainty. The Junagadh rulers belonged to Babi or Babai Pashtuns traced from Afghanistan.

An adjoined gold Kori was issued by Rasul Muhammad Khan from Junagadh mint in 1318 Anno Hijri or 1956 Vikram Samwat. The front of the coin features, “Persian legend Nawab Rasul Mohammad Khan Bahadur, Shri Diwan in Devanagari below within dotted border”. The backside of the coin shows, AH and VS date, Scimitar, and Mint name within dotted border.

Image Courtesy: Mintage World