2019-02-11 Mon

On the day of 11th February 1856, the British East India Company seized the Kingdom of Awadh from, Wajid Ali Shah - the Nawab of Awadh.

The Kingdom of Awadh or Oudh was located in North-eastern India (Today’s Lucknow). Awadh was ruled by the Nawabs who were first appointed as the Subhedar of Awadh by the Mughals. Subhedar Muhammed Amin, in the year 1720, carved out the independent Kingdom of Oudh. Awadh was ruled by the Nawabs for almost a century until the British came.

In the year 1856, Lord Dalhousie annexed the Kingdom Awadh in on the grounds of internal misrule. Hence, the Kingdom of Awadh becomes a part of the British Empire. The last Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was imprisoned and later exiled to Calcutta.

The coins shown above were one of the last minted coins at Awadh. Minted at Akhtar Nagar Mint in the Hijri year 1272 (1856 AD) the coins show two mermaids in the centre under a bowl-shaped crescent. The other side of the coin mentions the name of Nawab and the date in Indo-Arabic numerals.

These coins were the last issues of the Princely States of Awadh issued in the last year only for a year.

Image Courtesy: https://www.todywallaauctions.com