Silver Rupee, 10.77g, Transitional coinage, Saugor (Sagar) Mint, struck in the name of Shah Alam II, fixed RY 55, with the name ‘Saugor’ inscribed in English on obverse and the date 1819 in English numbers on reverse. First ever appeared in any Auction House. Extremely fine, exceedingly rare. This coin is an exceedingly rare type introduced as a short-lived transitional type soon after Central India was consolidated under British rule after the fall of the Marathas (Sindhia and Holkar in this case). The rupees produced at Sagar (Saugor) at this time were Maratha ‘Balashahi’ rupees but they were quickly imitated by an unofficial mint at Garhakota, producing coins of an inferior standard and thereby causing a lot of confusion in the market. To remedy this, Mr Maddock, the Assistant to the Agent to Governor General, ordered the coinage produced at Saugor to have features such as the name inscribed on them in English and also the date in English numerals, so that they could be easily distinguished from the unofficial, debased copies being produced at Garhakota. Maddock also suggested that the mint be run on a government payroll in order to increase efficiency and production and his suggestion was implemented in 1825.