CHAPTER-6 CURRENCY AND

MINTING

140

CHAPTER -6

CURRENCY AND MINTING

At a time when the East India Company virtually stopped the transfer of

specie to India for the wretched Indian trade after the Battle of Plassey, the land

revenue collection in the Bengal region was organized in such a way that it

became complementary to the needs of the company trade. If the land revenue

was collected in kind from the cash crop areas it could be exported without

much difficulty. If the land tax was collected in the form of money, that money

in the Indian currency could be utilized for the purchase of Indian goods from

the Indian markets. While the British preferred direct or indirect commodity

exchange, instead of money to transaction, Tipu Sultan was ready to pay

money for the procurement of commodities.

In a letter written to Rajah Ram Chunder, Tipu states, “Two letters from

you have been received. You write, ‘that vermillion is not procurable within

our dominions and is only to be got at Pondicherry and Co.’ This being the

case, you must send money, and buying it at those ports dispatch it to the

presence. There is no necessity for sending (thither) goods (or merchandize) to

barter for it”1

William Kirkpatrick who compiled and edited these letters make a

statement that the aforesaid letter affords a fresh proof of the unremitting

.

1 Kirkpatrick, Selected Letters of Tipu Sultan to various public functionaries, London, 1911,

No.XIX, p. 32.

141

jealousy and dislike with which the Sultan, at this time, viewed any intercourse

between his subjects and those of the neighbouring countries, particularly the

English possessions. According to Kirkpatrick, instead of carrying on barter

through the Carnatic, Tipu arranges money for the purchase of vermillion. But

William Kirkpatrick is ignorant of the basic intensions of the Sultan. Firstly,

Tipu had imposed a trade embargo on the British particularly on the Malabar

coast. When that being the case, how could Tipu carry on with a barter

arrangement via the Carnatic? Secondly, it is not clear as to what was the

quality of vermillion which Tipu’s trader wanted to purchase from

Pondicherry. Thirdly, the major merchandise of Mysore including Sandalwood,

timber, pepper etc., for which better prices were offered at the international

level by centres outside2. In fact, the French could purchase pepper at Mahe in

Malabar3, instead of sending it through Carnatic, infested by the East India

Company4

As far as currency and banking were concerned, Tipu was ahead of

many of his contemporaries. While the Mahrattas had not advanced

.

5 in this

respect to accept the bills of exchange, Tipu government had its own bankers in

all important places. Among his bankers the name of Raghavendra Naik6

2 Kirkpatrick, Select Letters of Tipu Sultan to various public functionaries, London, 1811,

No.XIX, p.32.

was

well-known. Once, Tipu himself accepted banker’s bills for 18 lakhs of rupees

3 Sebastian Joseph, State , Trade and the Colonial Economic structure of Malabar,IHC,Delhi Session,1992,pp717-724

4 Sebastian Joseph, Pepper Trade and Price Fluctuations in Malabar, IHC Proceedings, Dharwad Session. 1986 pp 423-26.

5 Miscallaneous Regulations, Letter No. 111 of 21 February 1785. 6 Letter No.XIII of 4th April 1785.

142

by the Nawab of Savanore7. According to M.H. Gopal, even to a distant

France, Tipu sent a letter of credit to be drawn in that country, when he sent Du

Buc’s embassy8

The currency system had its own problems. When the State of Mysore

expanded from a tiny state to a large, South Indian Kingdom with extensive

territories, the currencies of those territories co-existed with that of the

currency of Mysore Kingdom. Naturally the prevalence of multiple currencies

created the problems of parity. Under such a situation, perhaps to reorganize

the currency system, he introduced new coins, with the hope that the new coins

would replace the older ones

. In Tipu sultan’s Kingdom Bill of Exchange appears to have

been very extensive and rarely we read large sums paid otherwise than by bills.

9

In a letter dated 23 June 1785, Tipu writes, “But in as much as the gold

and silver coins stamped with the names of the rulers of the age, contravene the

prescription of our liturgae (lineage?) I have on this account, devised and

coined and caused to be circulated, a new superior kind of gold Mohar, in

which names of god, of the Holy Prophet and of the august Prince of sanctity

and sages (Ali) are introduced”

.

10

According to Kirmani

.

11

7 Kirkpatrick Letter No.CL of 16 February 1787.

, the sovereign issued new silver coins and

rupees called Imaymi. The rupee and the gold Mohar were issued about five

months after the accession of Tipu, around May, 1783. In fact, Tipu had struck

8 Gopal, M.H. Tipu Sultan’s Mysore – An Economic Study, p.101. 9 Sir Arbuthnot, Maj. Gen. Sir Thomas Munro. Selections From his Minutes etc. LXXII of 23

June 1785. 10 Ibid. 11 Kirmani, pp. 143-44.

143

coins of various denominations in all three metals, namely, gold, silver and

copper. He himself proposed names for each of these coins. These names

which the Sultan provided were inscribed on the coins. Lewis Rice, the

celebrated author of Mysore Gazetter gives a list of the names applied to Tipu’s

gold and silver coins but many of these are merely the designations by which

the different types were known locally or by the sarrafs. Such, for example, are

the gold Sultani Hun, the Aval and Duyam Sultani Hana, the Nayar and dhoti

and Sayad Sale, and in silver, the Nokara or double rupee and the Sultani

Rupayee. These bazaar names need not engage our attention fully.

Varieties of coins

Tipu had four varieties of gold coins. The first one was called Muhr or

Ahmadi. Ahmad is another variant of the term Muhammad, which literally

meant, the most praised or respected. The coin was issued perhaps in honour of

the Prophet12

The second gold coin was called the Half Muhr or Sadiqui. The meaning

of the word sadiq is ‘just’ or ‘true’. It is suggestive of the special ‘virtue’

accredited to Abu Bakr, the first of the four khalifs.The 4

.

th variety was the

lowest denomination of Tipu’s gold coins, which was called Fanam (or the

Dravidian Panam). Fanam was actually one-tenth of a pagoda and thus, one

fortieth of Muhr. For this coin, Tipu gave the name of Rahuti. The original

Fanam was a piece of copper equal in weight to that of the manjadi seed 13

12 Ibid.

.

13 Elliot, Coins of Southern India, pp. 47-49.

144

Among the silver coins, Haidari (the double rupee) was the most

important one. This was a large sized coin that was named after Haidar in his

honour by Tipu. There are many interpretations on the etymological meaning

of the term. ‘Haidar’, ‘a lion’, was the epithet of Ali, alike the fourth Khalifa

and the first Imam14

Another silver coin was the Rupee or Imami. The word Imam means

‘exemplar’, ‘Leader’ and the Imams of the Shia sect are Ali and his eleven

descendants.Apart from these, we come across the Half rupee or ‘Abidi’. The

name was given by Tipu Sultan, in honour of the fourth of the twelve Imams,

who was called Ali Zain al Abidin (Ali, the ornament of the servants of Allah).

.

The silver quarter rupee was called Baqiri. This currency was named

after, the fifth Imam Muhammad Baqir, Muhammad the great15

The one-Anna coin was called Kazimi

. Below the

quarter rupee, there was two-Anna piece or Jafari. This coin was dedicated to

the sixth Imam, Jafar Al-Sadiq, who was called Jafar the just.

16

. This was named after Musa al

Kazim, who was called Musa the silent. Musa was the seventh Imam, and it is

his title that was attached to this coin. The half-Anna piece or Khidri, was the

person who had discovered and drunk of the fountain of life. This personage of

the Muslim hagiology is said to be alive for ever. When we study the copper

coins of Tipu’s time, it is found that there were five different varieties made of

copper.

14 Rev Geo. P. Taylor, The Coins of Tipu Sultan, Op. Cit., p. 13. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid.

145

The first one was the Double-piece (paise) which was equivalent to 40

cash (kasu). Before 1793-94 AD (Mauludi era 1222), Tipu’s Double-paise was

known as an Othmans. Othmani derives from the third Khalifa, Othman. In the

year 1222 Mauludi (1793-94) the name of this Double-paise was changed from

Othmani to Mushtari, the planet Jupiter17

.

The paise piece or Zohra was equivalent to 20 kasu. This coin was given

a name identical with that of the planet Venus. On the paise from the mint at

Pattan (Srirangapatna) the term Zohra was spelled as Zohra and from the Nagar

mint it was spelled as Zohra. The half paise or Bahram was equivalent to 10

kasu. Bahram18

17 Ibid.

was also named after a planet, viz., Mars. The Aktar or Quarter

paisa was equivalent to 5 kasu. The word Aktar in Persian meant ‘Star’. The

eighth of a paisa was called Qutb. Qutb is the term for ‘Pole Star’. Eighth of a

paisa was equivalent to 2 ½ kasu.

18 Ibid.

146

List of coins

Gold :

1. The Muhr or Ahmadi

2. The Half Muhr or Sadiqi.

3. The Quartr Muhr or Faruqi

4. Fanam (one-tenth of Pagoda)

Silver :

1. Haidari or the Double-rupee

2. Imami or the Rupee

3. Abidi or the half-rupee

4. Baqin or the quarter-rupee

5. Jafari or the Two-Anna

6. Kazimi or the One-Anna

7. Khidri or the half-Anna

Copper :

1. Othmani or Mushtari-Double paise (=40

Kasu)

2. Zohra-The paise (=20 Kasu)

3. Bahram-The half paise (=10 Kasu)

4. Aktar-The Quarter paise (= 5 Kasu)

5. Qutb- The Eighth of a Paise (= 2 ½ Kasu)19.

19 Rev. Taylor wrongly spells cash (Eng.) for Kasu. See, Taylor, Op. Cit., pp. 14-15.

147

Currency and Sovereignty:

It is very note-worthy that Tipu had never used his own name for any of

his coins. It is also important that these coins also do not carry the name of the

regnant Mughal Emperor Shah Alam. Although in the late 18th century,

theoretically the Mughal Emperor was still the paramount authority. Even the

East India had not questioned it and they did the land revenue collection in the

name of the Mughal sovereign. According to Major Dirom, “Tipu was the first

Mahomedan prince since the establishment of the Mughal Empire who has

disclaimed the authority of the Emperor of Delhi or the great Mughal and who

has presumed to impress coins with only his own titles”20. Tipu, after having

struck these coins, had the audacity to send a number of them as an offering to

the emperor. What precisely were these coins, we do not know, but clearly,

they would have included his muhr and his double-rupee, both of them were

broader, heavier and aesthetically superior to any of current coins of Shah

Alam. In fact, when Tipu’s coins were gifted to him, the Emperor took serious

objection at the new coin-legends. According to Bowring Tipu later informed

that it was not meant to offend him, but he merely wanted to ascertain his

majesty’s pleasure about them21. Bowring says that Tipu had almost apologised

to the Emperor Shah Alam. But it is important that Tipu had deep knowledge

on the emerging political scenario in the Indian sub-continent as well as in

Europe22. At Plassey the British had captured the entire eastern region of the

Mughals, and made them helpless. By the second half of the 18th

20 See Major Dirom, Narratives of the Campaign in India.

century,

21 Bowring, L.B. Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, p. 212. 22 Ibid.

148

Awadh had grown in wealth and splendor than the declining Mughals. And

Tipu had even reason to ignore the Mughal authority. Tipu, therefore, believed

that he should build up a strong, independent sovereign state which would

withstand the onslaught of the East India Company and the British political

power.

Henderson’s observations on the coinage of the time are helpful in

understanding the importance of Tipu’s mints and the coinage system. “It may

be doubted if any coin more attractive in this respect (decorative value) than

Tipu’s double rupee has ever been struck in India”23. He further states that

“nowhere else is Tipu’s love for innovation better seen than in his coinage”. He

also observes that “… many of his gold and silver coins exhibit a highly

peculiar and characteristic milling….”24

Thus, it is significant that Tipu’s coins exhibited a higher degree of

innovation, technical superiority, technical precision and standardization. As

we have seen earlier , some of the coins were much superior to those of the

Mughals in the 18

.

th

Tipu’s Kingdom was substantially urbanized. It is astonishing that the

Sultan had 14 mint towns across the lengths and breadths of the state.

century. This could be possible only with the help of a

higher minting technology available in his kingdom.

23 Henderson, J.R. The Coins of Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, Madras, 1921, pp. VII- X. 24 Ibid., p. 27.

149

1) Bangalur

The town derived its name from Bangal (beans). According to the

tradition, once the King Veera-Ballala, on his way, found a shelter in a solitary

hut and he was offered a meal of boiled-beans. Once the area was settled well,

the name Bengala-uru was given to it. During his campaigns Haidar Ali built a

stone fort. During Tipu’s time, it was extended and rebuilt. But it faced the

brunt of several attacks. The mint at Bangalore regularly issued coins of

different denominations25

2) Pattan (Srirangapatna)

.

In Persian, the term Pattan was normally used for Srirangapatna. The

anglicized term was Seringapatam. The town derived its name from the famous

temple of Sriranganatha (Vishnu). Srirangapatna has a chequered history. After

the disintegration of the Vijayanagar Empire, the Wodeyars of Mysore made

this their capital. In the year 1771, the town was besieged by the Mahrattas. In

the year 1792, the British army had surrounded the town. And finally in 1799

Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed by the British and the fort was finally

taken over by the British army. The Srirangapatna the capital town had a very

important mint, which was specialized on the silver coins.

3) Khaliqabad

According to Lt.Hawkes, in his Brief Sketch of the Gold, Silver and

Copper Coinage of Mysore which was published in 1856, Khaliqabad was the

25 Rev. P. Taylor, Op.Cit., p.5

150

name given by Tipu to a village called Chendaghaul near Srirangapatam26.

Several writers continued to accept this identification wrongly. However,

according to Dr.J.R.Henderson, Superintendent of the Government Museum at

Madras, the Khaliqabad Mint was stationed at Dindigul in the Madura district,

instead of Chandagal27

According to him, Tipu would not have established another mint in a

village, so close to Srirangapatna because Tipu had another mint at Nazarbad in

Mysore, nine miles away from Srirangapatna.

.

On the other hand, there are strong evidences to support in favour of

identifying the mint-town Khaliqabad with Dindigul. Firstly, this town had

strategic importance, because this was almost the gateway to Madurai from the

Coimbatore region. For many years, Khaliqabad (Dindigal) continued to be the

southernmost confines of Mysore Kingdom.

The dates mentioned in the coins concur with the period of Tipu’s

occupation. Again, most of these Khaliqabad coins were discovered from the

Dindigal region. According to Kirmani, Dindigal was one of the forts whose

names were changed by Tipu and that the new name given to it was

Khaliqabad28

4) Khwurshed-Sawad (Dharwad)

.

Rev. Taylor, Moor29

26 See, Lt. Hawkes, Gold, Silver and Copper Coinage of Mysore, 1856.

and Marsden are of the view that Khwurshed-

Sawad should be translated into ‘Sun-blackened place’. How could this fit for

27 Dr. Hendersons, Opinion was sought by Rev. Taylor. 28 From these evidences, it is possible to surmise that Dindigal was indeed Khaliqabad. 29 Moor, A Narrative of the Operations of Capt. Little’s Detachment, p. 478.

151

Dharwad? Moor gives the interpretation that this sign signifies blackness,

darkness, dark population etc. They argue that Suwad means circumference.

But circumference is essentially space, an area. It is interesting that the three

scholars translate and interpret it as “striken on the Sun’s circumferences”30

If Khwrushed-Sawad is Dharwad, then why a separate statement of

Dharwad fort by Rev. Taylor? The Dharwad gold coins seem to have been

struck only in the year 1216 of the Mauludi era and the Khwrushed-Sawad

coins in gold and silver only in 1217 and 1218.

!

Dharwad has black-soil and this was the reason why Tipu identified this region

with the term Khwrushed-Sawad. And therefore, it is necessary to leave aside

some of these strange interpretations.

5) Dharwar Fort

The Fort of Dharwar traces its history from 1403 when it was built by

Dhar Rao, a Mahrattta chief. In 1778 this fort was captured by Haidar Ali and

demonstrated the expansion of the Mysore Kingdom upto Dharwar. However,

in 1791 it was captured by the British. The Dharwar (gold) coins seem to have

been struck only in the year 1216 of the Mauludi era and the Khwurshed-

Sawad coins (gold and silver) were struck only in 1217 and 1218 of the

Mauludi era.

In 1216, the fort was in the possession of Tipu Sultan and by 1217, he

would have adopted name Khurshed-Sawad31

.

30 Ibid. 31 Rev. Taylor, Op. Cit., p.8.

152

6) Salamadad (The City o Peace)

Tipu on his march to Coimbatore had captured the town

Satyamangalam, situated on the bank of the Bharani river in the Coimbatore

district. In 1790, in a span of 24 hours, the Tipu had two encounters with the

British forces under Col.Floyd. Edgar Thurston the author of The Castes and

Tribes of South Indian wrongly spells it as Islamabad. But the name

Satamabad could be noticed on the coins. In Macleod report, also,

Satyamangalam is entered as Salamabad32

7) Zafarabad (The City of Victory)

.

The name Zafarabad has been assigned to the fortress of Gurramkonda,

or ‘horse-hill’. This was in the Vayalpad taluk of Cudappa, in the Telugu

region. According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India, in the seventeenth

century, the governor of this town was authorized to mint coins. By 1768, the

fort was captured by Haidar Ali. However, by 1771 his general surrendered the

fort to the Mahratta Chief Timbak Rao33

. After two years in 1773, Tipu

recaptured the fort. Later, Cap. Read assented and gained entry in to the lower

fort in 1791. But Tipu’s army continued to hold the citadel of the fort till the

end of 1791. However, in 1792 the entire town was ceded to the Nizam. After

1800, Zafarabad along with district of Cuddappa was transferred to the Madras

Presidency.

32 Capt. Macleod, Jamabandi Abstract, Tamil Nadu Archives. 33 Ibid.

153

There is also another interpretation. According to Kirmani34 the name

Zafarabad was given to Mercara town by Tipu after 1782. Owing to frequent

warfare and rebellions, Tipu Sultan entrusted the entire government to Zein al

Abidin Mehdivi with strict orders to displace, imprison and punish all the

rebellions and seditious people of the district. Kirmani, on several occasions

uses the term Zafarabad for Mercara. Mercara remained under Tipu’s control

till 1790, when it once again passed in to the hands of the Raja of Kodagu

(Coorg). All the Zafarabad coins were struck in 1216 and 1218 (Anno

Mauludi) (AD 1787-1789). During this period, it was not only Mercara but

Cuddappa was also under Tipu’s possession. However, according to the

Imperial Gazetteer35

8) Farrukh-yab Hisar (Chitradurg)

Mercara’s new name was Jafarabad. Perhaps, Kirmani got

himself confused with the place names. Anyhow, Zafarabad had a mint and

Tipu got gold, silver and copper coins struck there.

The double paise coins exhibit along with the name the epithet Daral

Sultanat. The term ‘Farrukh-yab-Hisar’ and also Farruk-bab-Hissar’ are used.

According to Miles, the name given to Chitradurg fort was Furrokh yab Hisar.

The translation for the term Farrukh-yab-Hissar has been translated by Rev.

Taylor was ‘the castle felicitiously acquired’. According to Bowring36

34 See, Kirmani, p. 30.

, this

expression can be understood only when we look at the historical background.

Haidar had an unfriendly relationship with the Paleygar of Chitradurg. The

Paleygar had refused to co-operate with Haidar in the previous wars. The

35 Imperial Gazetteer XI, p. 13 and XVII, p. 292. 36 Bowring, Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, p. 74.

154

Madakeri Nayak made a gallant resistance against Haidar but he was defeated

made a prisoner along with his family members37

9) Ferokh (Farrukhi-‘happiness’)

.

The Ferokh town on the banks of the Beypur river, was originally

planned by Tipu as a rival town to the Calicut city which was only seven miles

away from it. In 1788, Tipu made serious effort to develop Ferokh, but did not

succeed much. But the mint which he established there became famous, most

of his denominations were struck at Ferokh.

10) The Faid Hisar or the ‘Citadel of Grace’

The town of Gutti (gooty) in the Ananthapur district was given the name

Faid Hisar by Tipu. It was a well-known hill fortress which was caputured by

Haidar Ali in 1778, which provided him with ample booty. During Tipu’s

period, before 1799, several denominations in gold, silver and copper were

struck in the Gutti mint38

11) Calicut (Kozhikode)

.

Calicut or Kozhikode was one of the international harbours of pre-

modern India. It was the centre of Asian trade for many centuries of pre-

modern India. It was here that Vasco da Gama landed in 1498. The Zamorin of

Calicut ruled over Calicut and vast areas of north Kerala. Haider Ali conquered

Calicut in 1773 after violent battles. But the rebellion broke out39

37 Ibid.

intermittently

and Hiadar had to pay heavy price for retaining the control over Malabar. In

38 For further historical information, see Charles Stuart, Catalogue and Memoirs of Tippoo Sultan. Also MMDLT, The History of Haidar Shah.

39 See, Ibrahim Kunju, Mysorean Interlude in Kerala also C.K. Kareem, Kerala under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, 1973.

155

1788 Tipu invaded and tried to consolidate. After the British occupation in

1792 Calicut became part of the Malabar district under the East India

Company. Tipu had established a mint in this harbour town and you have

several denominations struck. According to Krimani, Calicut was given a new

name Islamabad. But there are no coins bearing this place name. Hence,

Kirmani’s statement cannot be accepted fully.

12) Nazarbad

Tipu selected a place in Mysore city, which he named Nazarbad and

established a mint there. But some British authorities argue that Tipu wanted to

destroy all the remnants of the previous political system and therefore he

changed the name of Mysore into Nazarbad40

13) Nagar

. But this is a far-fetched

argument. When he styled himself the Sultan of Mysore, how could he change

the name in to Nazarabad? Therefore, he only selected a place in Mysore and

the mint and the surrounding areas were called Nazarbad.

Nagar was the capital of the Keladi Kings in the 17th

40 Charles Stuart, Catalogue and Memoirs of Tipu Sultan, Op. Cit., in MMDLT, History of

Hydershah, 1855, p. 271.

century. Nagar is

situated 55 miles west of Shimoga. The term Bidanur (Bednur) or “Bamboo

town” was used during the Keladi period. Haidar conquered the former Ikkeri

territories wanted to make Bednur his capital and he changed the name into just

Nagar under the British and the British made it the headquarters of a revenue

division. Here, Haidar had established a mint, which in its activity was second

only to that of Srirangapatna. Along with Pattan (Srirangapatna), Farrukh-yab

Hisar, Nagar too bore the epithet of Dar al Sultanat.

156

14) Benazir (Incomparable)-Holehonore.

The mint named Benazir was situated at Holehonore. But some scholars

seriously doubt the very distance of particular mint. This place is close to

Kudali, the famous confluence Kudali Sangama of the rivers Tunga and

Bhadra.

Thus from our study of Tipu Sultan’s currency system, there emerges a

few important points for our perusal.

1. Tipu started minting his own coins, first of all to eliminate some of the

currencies of the previous regimes from the money market in a gradual

process. The parity between various currencies which circulated in

Mysore and other parts of South India during the late 18th

2. Tipu issued gold, silver and copper coins from various mints across the

Kingdom. From the available coins, it is found that Tipu’s coins in gold

were struck at seven mints, at Srirangapatna and Khwurshed-Sawad.

century had

created a serious confusion.

3. Along with the new coins, Tipu had also introduced the new era, the

Mauludi era. Most of his coins have the imprint of this new era.

4. By diversifying the minting of coins of various metals from almost 14

mint towns in different parts of the Mysore Kingdom, (which included

the Mysore proper, Tamil regions, northern, north-western Karnataka,

Malabar and places like Cudappa and Anantpur). Tipu wanted the

availability of money in different areas of a war-torn country. This was

necessary not only for the purpose of war, but also for trading activities.