19th century Bhopal ruler’s gold coin fetches Rs8 lakh

Her reign is known as the Golden Reign of Bhopal and the gold coins she minted in the mid-1800s outshine some others even today. At the SM Shukla Memorial Coin Day, popularly known as the Bombay Coin Fair, a golden coin minted by Sikander Begum, who ruled Bhopal between 1847 to 1868, fetched the highest price in the auction held on Saturday at the World Trade Centre.

The coin that is presumed to be only the second known piece in existence was bought at Rs8 lakh by a person who did not wish to be identified. It was made between 1844 to 1865 and is said to be uncirculated then. Over 100 avid coin collectors, who were unwilling to get identified, bid for numerous coins.

The auction was held after a day-long exhibition of numerous coins, medals, notes of various princely states, British India, Portuguese India, Dutch, Moghuls, and the Gupta period among others. “The coins were a mix of all these periods. There is a big demand, particularly for coins of the British India period,” informed Malcom Todywalla, from Todywalla Auctions who had organised the exhibition and auction.

The other coins that got big money were gold mohur (3.84 gm) of 1774 in the name of Alamgir II that was bought for Rs2,70,000. The third highest bid was of Rs2,60,000 for a gold mohur of the Shah Alam period.