An Unrecorded Off-Metal Strike of the 1830 Bengal Presidency Half Rupee in the Name of Shah Alam II

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The Bengal Presidency, originally established as the Presidency of Fort William, was the most influential administrative division of the British East India Company and later the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial extent, it governed vast regions extending across present-day Bangladesh, eastern and northern India, as well as parts of modern Pakistan and Myanmar. Calcutta, developed around the strategic Fort William, served as the capital of the Bengal Presidency and functioned as the administrative heart of British India for much of the nineteenth century. Until the transfer of the imperial capital to Delhi in 1911, the Governor-General of Bengal, who frequently also held the office of Viceroy of India, exercised authority from Calcutta, making the city the political and commercial centre of the subcontinent.

Ali Gohar, better known by his imperial title Shah Alam II, was the seventeenth Mughal Emperor and the son of Emperor Alamgir II. He ascended the Mughal throne in 1760 during a period when imperial authority had significantly declined, with regional powers and the British East India Company increasingly dominating the Indian political landscape. Shah Alam II experienced two separate reigns, first from 10 October 1760 to 31 July 1788, and again from 16 October 1788 until his death on 19 November 1806. Although his political influence was limited, his name continued to appear on East India Company coinage for many years, reflecting the Company's deliberate policy of maintaining the appearance of Mughal sovereignty while consolidating its own administrative and monetary control.

The coinage issued under the Bengal Presidency during the name of Shah Alam II illustrates the technological transition of the period. Both semi-machine struck and fully machine-struck coins were produced, demonstrating the gradual replacement of traditional minting techniques by modern mechanised methods. These issues occupy an important place in Indian numismatics, marking the evolution of mint technology while preserving the conventional Mughal inscriptions and artistic style that had long been accepted throughout the subcontinent.

The 1830 Bengal Presidency Silver Half Rupee bearing the name of Shah Alam II is a well-documented denomination in the East India Company series. Standard specimens are struck in silver with an approximate weight ranging from 5.5 to 6.5 grams, a diameter of 22.0-23.0 mm, and a thickness of about 2.0 mm. The design follows the established Mughal fabric, with Persian inscriptions and calligraphic elements characteristic of the Bengal Presidency coinage, and is readily recognisable to collectors of British Indian and East India Company issues.

An unusual specimen examined by the author, however, differs significantly from the documented standard. Instead of silver, the coin is struck in copper, while preserving virtually identical legends, calligraphy, and overall design characteristics of the regular 1830 Half Rupee. The specimen has a weight of 8.9 grams, a diameter of 24.8 mm, and a thickness of 2.2 mm, making it both heavier and larger than the standard silver issue. The close correspondence of the dies strongly indicates that the piece was struck using official Half Rupee dies rather than being a contemporary imitation or later reproduction.

Coins produced in an unintended metal are generally classified as Off-Metal Strikes (OMS), one of the most desirable categories of mint errors. Such pieces typically result from the accidental use of an incorrect planchet during the striking process or, less commonly, from experimental or presentation strikes conducted within the mint. The discovery of a copper example of the 1830 Bengal Presidency Half Rupee bearing the name of Shah Alam II appears to represent an undocumented variety. If authenticated through metallurgical examination and die comparison with regular silver issues, this specimen would constitute a noteworthy addition to the corpus of East India Company coinage, offering fresh insight into minting practices and expanding the catalogue of known mint errors from the Bengal Presidency.






 

I love to collect coins, specially British Indian coins

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