Item number: A1161-2

Year: AD 1789 (AH 1204)

Material: Gold

Size: 16.8 x 16.5 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 3.1 g

Manufactured by: Murshidabad Mint

Provenance: Morton & Eden 2024

This is a ¼ mohur gold coin from the year AH 1204 (AD 1789), issued by the Bengal Presidency of the British East India Company, headquartered in Calcutta, imitating the Mughal Empire’s style. The coin is remarkably small, with milled edges featuring diagonal striations. On the obverse, in Persian script, the name and title of the then-seventeenth Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II, “سهاه الام بادساه” (Shah Alam Badshah), are inscribed. The upper edge bears the minting year in Persian numerals, “۱۲۰۴” (AH 1204), while the centre is adorned with a miniature decorative motif of a five-petalled flower and dot.

The reverse side of the coin also features Persian inscriptions. From top to bottom, it reads “سانات ۱۹” (Sanat 19) and “زارب مورشیداباد” (Zarb Murshidabad), which together translate to “Year 19 of the reign (of the sovereign), minted in Murshidabad.” The upper edge is adorned with miniature five-petalled floral and dot motifs, as well as floral totems on either side. Murshidabad, a significant commercial city and political centre in the Bengal region, was renowned for its silk and attracted European traders from Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The Mughal Empire had established a mint in this city.

The Bengal Presidency can be traced back to AD 1612, when the British East India Company established trade in the Bay of Bengal, centred around Calcutta. In AD 1765, the Company acquired tax collection rights over the region from the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, officially founding the Bengal Presidency. In AD 1793, the Company further consolidated its power by obtaining judicial authority over the area. By the 19th century, as British influence expanded across South Asia, the Bengal Presidency’s jurisdiction grew to encompass territories such as Burma, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and various islands in the Indian Ocean.

物件編號: A1161-2

年代: 公元 1789 年 (回曆 1204 年)

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 16.8 x 16.5 x 0.6 mm

重量: 3.1 g

製造地: 穆爾斯希達巴德造幣廠

來源: 莫頓與伊登 2024

這是一枚回曆1204年(公元1789年)，英國東印度公司以加爾各答為中心的「孟加拉管轄區」模仿蒙兀兒帝國風格的 ¼ 莫哈爾金幣。錢幣面積十分嬌小，邊緣帶有斜條紋齒邊。錢幣正面以波斯文，打印時任蒙兀兒第十七任皇帝沙·阿拉姆二世名字和頭銜「سهاه الام بادساه」，上緣則以波斯數字標示鑄造的回曆年份「۱۲۰۴」(1204)，中間則有一個迷你的五瓣花珠點裝飾。

背面同樣是波斯銘文，從上而下依序是「سانات ۱۹」和「زارب مورشیداباد」，合併一起意思為「(君主) 統治的第19年，鑄造於穆爾斯希達巴德」。於上緣左右側以迷你五瓣花珠點和五瓣花草圖騰作為裝飾。穆爾斯希達巴德是西孟加拉地區重要的商業城市和政治中心，以絲綢出名並吸引來自英、法、荷和丹麥的歐洲商人在此貿易，蒙兀兒帝國在此有設立鑄幣廠。

孟加拉管轄區能追溯自公元1612年，英國東印度公司以加爾各答為中心的孟加拉灣貿易。公元1765年，公司從蒙兀兒皇帝沙·阿拉姆二世獲得該地區的稅收權，正式設立「孟加拉管轄區」。公元1793年，公司再進一步獲取該地的司法權。進入公元19世紀後，隨著英國在南亞地區的擴張，孟加拉管轄區統治範圍一度包含緬甸、馬來半島、新加坡和印度洋上的小島。