Mughal ; Muhammad Akbar II, 1st reign, 1788, AR rupee Saharanpur, AH1203 year one (ahad), KM-760, RRR, Exceedingly Rare
Note : After the Maratha occupation of Delhi, Shah Alam II was expelled, replaced first by Bedar Bakht. Very soon thereafter, under the domination of the Rohilla Chieftain Ghulam Qadir, Bedar Bakht was replaced by Muhammad Akbar, then about 28 years old. However, very shortly afterwards, Ghulam Qadir was captured by Mahadaji Sindhia, who reinstated Shah Alam II to the Mughal throne in Delhi.
Obv : Muhammad Akbar II and date (KM 760; only a couple of specimens are known, see The New York Sale XXV, January 2011, lot 381 and Baldwin’s Auction 45, 2006, lot 1341).
Note : The Hijra year 1203 was a period of turmoil and change for the Indian Emperors. It saw the rule of Delhi changing from the hands of Shah Alam II to Bedar Bakht, from Bedar Bakht to Muhammad Akbar II and from Muhammad Akbar II to Shah Alam II again. The young Prince Akbar II was enthroned by the Rohilla chief Ghulam Qadir. Mirza Akbar Shah wrote to Nawab Faizullah Khan: “ …on 14 th Muharram (15 th October) the imperial throne was illuminated by our august accession and the sound of the kettle-drum of felicitations reached the ears of the inhabitants of earth and the world above … the face of Gold and Silver coins shone brighter than the sun and the moon by the effluence of the impression, of our name on them ”. This reign was very short lived when Ghulam Qadir ran away and Mahadaji Scindhia captured Delhi to reinstate the blind emperor Shah Alam II to the throne on 17 October 1788. It is very interesting to note that the emperor has left us a written record of the fact that Khutba was read and coins were struck in both gold and silver for such a short reign and that both such coins have been discovered. For detailed discussion of the event and coinage of the puppets see the article by Dr Shailendra Bhandare “ Muhammad Akbar: A pawn in politics: the first reign ”