Gond kingdom of Garha Mandla, Madhukar Shah, Copper 1/2 Unit, 4.70g, VS 1664, Obv: Lion facing left, Devanagari legend “Shri Madhu(kara)…” around, date 1664 below, Rev: Devanagari legend “…Shri Madhuka / ra Sahi”. Extremely fine, extremely rare. The Gond kingdom was defeated by Akbar in 1564 after a heroic fight by Rani Durgavati who was killed in the battle of Chauragarh. Her kingdom then passed to Chand Shah, who was recognized by Akbar as the ruler of Garha as his vassal. Soon afterwards Madhukar Shah, the younger brother of Chand Shah, murdered him and gained the throne for himself. The date on the coin corresponds closely to Akbar's death and it is possible that Madhukar Shah threw off the Mughal authority for a short time, by striking coins in his own name. These coins are extremely rare and less than five specimens are known to exist.