Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah II, Silver Rupee, 11.19g, Khujista Bunyad Mint, in the name of Shah Alam II, with Devnagari legend “Ram” written upside down on reverse. Extremely fine for type, exceedingly rare. This is an unusual type of coin of the Nizam where the name of a Hindu deity is used as a mint-mark or a signifier for an issuer / licensee who farmed the minting rights. This was a period of great political uncertainty in the region with the Maratha court in Pune in grips of a feud between Raghunath Rao and his ministers. The Nizam was reduced to a powerless ruler after his defeat at the battle of Rakshas Bhuvan in 1763. It is difficult to surmise what must have been the reason to include ‘Ram’ in Devanagari as a mark on coins from the Nizam’s principle mint but most likely it must have been a Hindu licensee, or it is also possible that the coins were struck at a Hindu Jagirdar under the Nizam’s command with a pseudo-mint name.