2018-12-29 Sat

A Princely State was an entity of British India that was not directly governed by British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule.

British had their own monetary system but at least 125 states produced their own coinage, mainly in the period from 1800 to 1900, though the number of them continued to issue coins until 1947. Today, we will explore the history of one such Princely State called Radhanpur.

Radhanpur State was a Princely State in India during the British Empire. It was established by Jafar Khan in the year 1693. The Nawabs of Radhanpur were Pathans of the Babi family who rose to a high office in the service of Shah Jahan and Murad Bakhsh in Gujarat.

Bismillah Khan rules the Princely State of Radhanpur from 1874 to 1895 AD. During the reign, he issued silver and copper coins in a round and rectangular shape.

Represented above Hasht Anna (8 Annas) of Bismillah Khan is listed at INR 20,000 to 25,000 at Classical Numismatic Gallery. The obverse of a coin bore the legend ‘Nawab Muhammad Bismillah Khan Bahadur Babi’ with AH date 1298. The reverse showed the legend ‘Hasht Anna Qaiser-e-Hind Mallika-e-Muazzima Queen Victoria’.

Image Source: Classical Numismatic Gallery