Sale: CNG 66, Lot: 1894. Estimate $3000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 19 May 2004.  Sold For $2600. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDIA, Princely States. Assam. Jayadhvaja Simha (Surga Narayana)-Sutamla. 1648-1663. AV Octagonal Mohur (11.36 gm). Dated Saka Era 1570 (1648 AD-Accession Year). Bengali legend with date below / Four line Bengali legend. N. Rhodes, "The Earliest Gold Coins of Assam," ONS Newsletter 168, pg. 15-16, 2 (same dies); KM - (type of KM 2 - silver rupee). EF. The first gold coin of Assam. ($3000)

The kingdom of Assam was founded in the 13th century by Burmese tribes who settled in the Brahmaputra river valley and adopted Hinduism. Assam served as a bulwark against the eastward expansion of the Muslim Mughal Empire until 1661, when Mir Jumla invaded and occupied the country. Over the course of the next year, the Mughal armies faced their worst enemy: the tropical climate of the Bramaputra Region. By 1663 the debilitated Mughals withdrew from Assam on the agreement that the kingdom would pay annual tribute. These gold mohurs of Jadahvaja Simha, unknown before the discovery of a small hoard, are dated the year of his accession, as are all early Assamese coins, but were most likely struck as part of the payment due the Mughals after their withdrawal in 1663, the last year of his reign.