Item number: A1241

Year: AD 1852 (AH 1269)

Material: Gold

Size: 21.3 x 21.3 mm

Manufactured by: Lucknow Mint

Provenance: Spink 2024

This is an Ashrafi gold coin minted in Hijri year 1269 (AD 1852) during the reign of Wajid Ali Shah, the last ruler of Oudh State in north-central India. The obverse features the state’s distinctive emblem: a crown and parasol guarded by two sword-wielding mermaids on either side. Surrounding the emblem is an Urdu inscription, accompanied by five-petalled floral motifs indicating that the coin was struck in Lucknow. The reverse bears Urdu script with the name and titles of Wajid Ali Shah, along with the coin’s minting date, AH 1269, written in Persian numerals.

The Oudh State was the most prosperous province of the Mughal Empire. By the early 19th century, as the Mughal Empire declined, Oudh achieved dae facto independence but was increasingly subjected to interference by the British East India Company. In AD 1856, the British Governor-General of India, Lord Dalhousie, coerced Wajid Ali Shah into abdicating and exiled him to Calcutta. During the Indian Rebellion of AD 1857, Lucknow, located within Oudh’s territory, became a centre of fierce resistance against British rule. After the rebellion was suppressed, the British abolished Oudh State and reorganised it as part of the North-Western Provinces under the direct administration of the Governor-General.

物件編號: A1241

年代: 公元 1852 (回曆 1269) 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 21.3 x 21.3 mm

製造地: 勒克瑙鑄幣廠

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2024

這是一枚回曆1269年(公元1852年)，印度中北部的奧德土邦，末代統治者瓦吉德·阿里·沙任內所鑄造的阿什拉菲金幣。正面中央是極具代表性的奧德土邦國徽，即左右兩側由持刀人魚護衛的一頂皇冠和遮陽傘。國徽的周圍以烏爾都銘文作為裝飾，並以五瓣珠點花飾表示這枚錢幣於勒克瑙所鑄造。背面的烏爾都銘文為瓦吉德·阿里·沙名諱和頭銜，並且以波斯數字表示錢幣鑄造的回曆年份「۱۲۶۹」(1269)。

奧德土邦為蒙兀兒帝國最為富饒的省份，公元19世紀初，隨著蒙兀兒帝國的衰敗奧德土邦獲得實質獨立地位，然而又不斷受到新興的英國東印度公司干涉。公元1856年，英國印度總督達爾豪斯侯爵脅迫瓦吉德·阿里·沙退位，將其流放至加爾各答。公元1857年，印度全境爆發大規模的譁變之際，奧德土邦境內的勒克瑙是反抗最為激烈的地區。因此英國在事變平息之後，廢除奧德土邦將其改制為直接受總督管轄的「西北諸省」。