Coronation Issue

Sale: Triton XII, Lot: 987. Estimate $2500.  Closing Date: Monday, 5 January 2009.  Sold For $2500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDIA, Independent States. Maratha Confederacy. Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhosle. 1674-1680. AR Hun (2.41 g, 6h). Struck 1674. “Sri Raja Siva” in Devanagari in three lines across field / “Chhatrapati” in Devanagari in two lines across field. Cf. Marathas p. 20, T1 (AV Hun); KM -. EF, toned. Very rare.

Prior to the accension of Shivaji, the Marathas were a loose confederacy of Hindu tribes who controlled the Deccan. This area underwent periodic conflicts with the Mughal emperors who sought to control the region. During this period, Shahaji, an influential Maratha commander, sought to consolidate his control over the disparate tribes; it was his son, Shivaji, who became the first true ruler of the Maratha Empire that resulted. Appointed by his father as jagir, or feudal lord of Pune while Shivaji was still young, Shivaji used his territory as a base from which he expanded his control over the surrounding local lords. By 1674, he was in a position to proclaim himself Chhatrapati, king in effect. To commemorate this event, an extremely rare issue of gold and silver hunas were struck for his coronation. During his reign, Shivaji fended off the Mughals, but after his death in 1680, the Maratha states were broken, and the Hindu tribes resorted to a prolonged campaign of guerilla warfare for almost the next half-century. Shivaji is regarded as one of the founders of modern India.