2026-08-18 Tue

Nawanagar [Jamnagar] in Gujarat was a prominent princely state in the historic Halar region of Kathiawar (Saurashtra), situated on the southern shores of the Gulf of Kutch. It was founded in 1540 by Jam Shri Rawalji Lakhaji, a descendant of the Jadeja Rajput rulers of Kutch, who claimed Yadava lineage tracing their ancestry to Lord Krishna.

According to legend, the site for the new capital was chosen following a hunting incident in which a hare boldly turned on the pursuing dogs, symbolizing the inherent courage of the land. Rawalji subsequently established Nawanagar (“New Town”) on the banks of the Rangmati and Nagmati rivers in 1596 VS. The city later came to be known as Jamnagar, meaning “the town of the Jams.”

After Indian independence, Nawanagar was among the princely states that signed the Instrument of Accession in 1948 and became part of the Indian Union. Its last ruling Jam Saheb, Digvijaysinhji, served as the Rajpramukh of Saurashtra.

Jam Shri Vibhaji II, born on 8 May 1827, ruled Nawanagar from 1852 to 1895. He undertook several important administrative and developmental reforms. These included the establishment of regular civil and criminal courts in 1864, reform of the land revenue system in 1866, and the development of public works such as water-supply systems, schools, libraries, gardens, bridges, and a printing press. He also initiated the construction of a railway line connecting Rajkot and Nawanagar.

Vibhaji II issued gold, silver, and copper coins from the Nawanagar mint. The principal currency unit was the kori, which was subdivided into smaller copper denominations such as the dokdo, trambiyo, and dhinglo. Later issues reflected greater modernisation, including semi-machine-struck and machine-struck pieces, along with clearer Vikram Samvat (VS) dates.

His silver coinage included 1 Kori, 2½ Kori, and 5 Kori denominations. The 1 Kori weighed approximately 6.4–6.6 g, while the ½ Kori weighed about 3.2 g. Common circulating copper denominations included the Trambiyo, 1 Dokdo, 2 Dokdo, 3 Dokdo, and Dhinglo. These often featured the frozen date AH 978, legends such as “Shri Jam” or “Shri Jam Vibhaji,” katar symbols, and Vikram Samvat dates.

The coin illustrated here is a mechanically struck silver 5 Kori weighing 14.45 g and dated VS 1930. Its obverse bears the Devanagari legend, “Maharaja / Dhiraja Jam / Shri 7 Vibhaji / Pach Kori” in four lines within a circle, with “Sansthan Nawanagar” above and the VS date below. The reverse features a Devanagari legend within a circular floral scroll, “Malika / Maazama Kween / Wikatoria.”

Following the British Crown's assumption of direct rule from the East India Company, the authorities sought to establish the British rupee as the principal circulating currency throughout India. They discouraged princely states from issuing their own coinage, which was often regarded by British authorities as inconsistent in quality and susceptible to debasement.

In response, several princely states experimented with machine-struck coinage in an effort to achieve greater uniformity and quality comparable to British coinage. Nawanagar’s VS 1930 issue appears to form part of this early-1870s experiment, with VS 1930 corresponding approximately to 1873–74 CE. Neighboring states, including Kutch, Junagadh, and Radhanpur, undertook similar experiments around the same period.

The experiment ultimately did not develop on a large scale. Possible reasons include intervention by the Government of India in the import of minting machinery and difficulties in securing sufficient silver supplies to sustain production. These coins therefore stand as tangible evidence of Nawanagar’s brief but determined attempt to embrace monetary modernization amid growing colonial pressure.