The Mohur is a
gold coin that was formerly minted by several governments, including
British India and some of the
princely states which existed alongside it, the
Mughal Empire,
Kingdom of Nepal, and
Persia (chiefly
Afghanistan). It was usually equivalent in value to fifteen silver
rupee
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
s. It was last minted in British India in 1918, but some princely states continued to issue the coins until their
accession to India after 1947. Similar coins were also issued by the British authorities in denominations of mohur (10 rupees), mohur (5 rupees) and the double mohur (30 rupees), and some of the princely states issued half-mohur coins (equal to 7 rupees and 8 anna).
The ''mohur'' coin was first introduced by
Sher Shah Suri during his rule in India between 1540 and 1545 and was then a gold coin weighing 169
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
s (10.95 grams). He also introduced
copper coins called ''
dam'' and
silver coins called ''
rupiya'' that weighed 178 grains (11.53 grams). Later on, the
Mughal emperors standardized this coinage of tri-metallism across the sub-continent in order to consolidate the monetary system.
Etymology
The word ''mohur'' or ''
mohor'' (from the Persian word ''muhr'', which means "seal" or "signet ring") is
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
with the
Sanskrit word ''mudrā'', which in turn comes from ''mudraṇam'', which also means "seal".
Collector value
Gold mohurs issued by the Mughal Empire, the British East India Company or the British Crown are valuable collector items and sell in auctions for high prices. The double mohur (minted between 1835 and 1918) with a value of 30 rupees is the highest denomination circulating coin issued till date. An 1835 double mohur was sold at a
Bangalore auction for ₹11.5
lakh
A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...
s making it the highest ever coin bid in India.
See also
*
Double eagle
*
History of the rupee
The history of the rupee traces back to ancient Indian subcontinent. The mention of ''rūpya'' by Pāṇini is seemingly the earliest reference in a text about coins. The term in Indian subcontinent was used for referring to a coin.
The word "r ...
*
Dam (Indian coin)
*
Dam (Nepali coin)
Dam was a small coin, either silver, gold or copper first minted during between c. 1098 - 1126 CE., replacing old Licchavi coinage.
History
First introduced by King Sivadeva during his between c. 1098 and 1126 CE., replacing old Lichhavi coinage ...
*
Nepalese mohar
*
Krugerrand (South Africa)
References
Footnotes
Notes
{{Historic Indian currency and coinage
Coins of India
Sur Empire
Historical currencies of India
Gold in India