2018-02-16 Fri

Sayaji Rao II was Maharaja of Baroda and was the third son of Govind Rao Gaekwad. Baroda was a Princely State located in the present day Gujarat which was ruled by Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from the year 1721 CE till 1949 CE. After that, this state acceded to the newly formed Union of India.

The ruling family of the Gaekwad were descendants of a Maratha soldier Damaji. He had received the title of ‘Shamsher Bahadur’ meaning ‘Distinguished Swordsman’ in the year CE 1721.

Due to this reason, most of the coins issued by Baroda come with the image of the Scimitar (Sword). This gold one-third mohur which was issued by Sayaji Rao II weighs around 3.2 g. This one-third mohur was sold for INR 46,000 by Classical Numismatic Gallery Auction. On the obverse, coin depicts the name of Muhammad Akbar II with Devanagari ‘Sri’ and Hijri Year and on the reverse; the coin depicts the vertical ‘Scimitar’.

Image Courtesy: - Classical Numismatic Gallery.