Kachehri Fauj Ganj, Silver Rupee, 10.46g, struck in the travelling Mint of “Kachehri Fauj Ganj”, in the name of Shah Alam II, RY 30, with symbol of royal Umbrella and a Flower on obverse and a Trishul on reverse (Not listed / identified in major publications). Very fine, extremely rare.
Shah Alam II’s 30th regnal year spans January 1788 – January 1789 and this was a very eventful year. In July 1788, Ghulam Qadir Rohilla occupied Shahjahanabad and unleashed a reign of terror which saw the city and the Red Fort plundered. Shah Alam II was deposed and blinded and the Mughal throne passed quickly to two puppet rulers– Bedar Bakht and Muhammad Akbar II. The situation was relieved by the Marathas under Mahadji Sindhia, who marched to Delhi from Mathura and ultimately drove Ghulam Qadir out. He was chased, arrested and killed in March 1789.
The mint-name on this coin ‘Kachehri Fauj Ganj’ indicates that it was struck in a travelling mint that was operating from the ‘office in the army’s market’. The style and symbols bear a close resemblance to Maratha issues of Mathura mint. It is therefore plausible to regard that these coins as issues of a mint that travelled with the Maratha army, as it moved from Mathura towards Delhi. It is likely that the coins were struck to pay the troops that assembled under the Maratha command as it sought to expel Ghulam Qadir from Shahjahanabad.