The mohar was the currency of the
Kingdom of Nepal
The Kingdom of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल अधिराज्य), also known as the Gorkha Empire ( ne, गोरखा अधिराज्य) or Asal Hindustan ( ne, असल हिन्दुस्तान)(), was a Hindu king ...
from the second half of the 17th century until 1932.
Silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
and
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
mohars were issued, each subdivided into 128 ''
dams
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
''.
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
dams were also issued, together with copper ''paisa'' worth 4 copper dams. The values of the copper, silver and gold coinages relative to one another were not fixed until 1903. In that year, the silver mohar became the standard currency, divided into 50 paisa. It was replaced in 1932 by the
rupee, also called the ''mohru'' (Moru), at a rate of 2 mohars = 1 rupee.
Coins
Nepalese mohar 816.rev.jpg, Nepalese silver mohar in the name of King Bhupatindra Malla (ruled 1696-1722) of Bhadgaon (Bhaktapur), dated Nepal Era
Nepal Sambat, also spelled as Nepala Sambata, (Nepal Bhasa: , Nepali: ) is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newari people of Nepal. The Calendar era began on 20 October 879 AD, with 1142 in Nepal Sambat corresponding to the year 2021–2022 ...
816 = AD 1696, reverse.
Nepal30005a.JPG, Mohar of king Prithvi Narayan Shah dated Saka Era
The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78.
The era has been widely used in different regions of India as well as in SE Asia.
Hist ...
1685 (AD 1763).
Nepal30005.JPG, Nepalese silver mohar in the name of king Chakravartendra Malla of Kathmandu, dated Nepal Sambat
Nepal Sambat, also spelled as Nepala Sambata, (Nepal Bhasa: , Nepali: ) is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newari people of Nepal. The Calendar era began on 20 October 879 AD, with 1142 in Nepal Sambat corresponding to the year 2021–2022 ...
789 = AD 1669, obverse.
Nepal30007.JPG, Nepalese silver mohar in the name of king Chakravartendra Malla of Kathmandu, dated Nepal Sambat 789 = AD 1669, reverse.
In the reign of
Girvan Yuddha (1799–1816), copper coins were issued for 1 and 2 dam and 2 paisa, with silver coins for 1 dam, , , ⅛, ¼, ½, ¾, 1, 1½ and 3 mohar and gold coins for 1 dam, , , ⅛, ¼, ½, 1, 1½ and 2 mohar.
In the reign of the next king (
Rajendra, 1816–1847), no copper coins were issued, with silver ¾, 1½ and 3 mohar discontinued and 2 mohar introduced. Gold 1½ mohar were also discontinued.
Surendra (1847–1881) introduced a new copper coinage in 1866, consisting of 1 dam, 1 and 2 paisa, with ½ paisa issued from 1880. The silver coinage consisted of the same denominations as his predecessor, with the gold coinage similar except for the absence of the 2 mohar. The coinage of
Prithvi
Prithvi or Prithvi Mata (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her conso ...
(1881–1911) was very similar to that of Surendra, except for the issue of silver 4 mohar and gold mohar.
The copper coinage of
Tribhuvan
Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (30 June 1906 – 13 March 1955) was King of Nepal from 11 December 1911 until his ...
consisted of 1 paisa, with 2 and 5 paisa added in 1919. Silver coins were issued for 1 dam, ¼, ½, 1, 2 and 4 mohar, with gold 1 dam, , , ⅛ and 1 mohar. The gold coinage continued to be issued after the introduction of the rupee until 1950.
See also
*
Historical money of Tibet
The use of historical money in Tibet started in ancient times, when Tibet had no coined currency of its own. Bartering was common, gold was a medium of exchange, and shell money and stone beads were used for very small purchases. A few coins from o ...
*
Nepalese coins
The earliest coin minted in today's territory of Nepal was in Shakya Mahajanapada, along the India–Nepal border at around 500 BCE. Shakya coins were an example of a coin invented in the Indian subcontinent which continued to be used in Nep ...
External links
Golden Jubilee Publications - Notes and Coins of Nepal , Wayback Machine
Bibliography
* Agrawal (Ghiraiya), Shyam and Gyawali, Kamal Prasad: Notes and Coins of Nepal. Nepal Rastra Bank. Golden Jubilee Year 2005/06, Kathmandu, 2006.
* Joshi, Satya Mohan: Nepali Rashtriya Mudra (National Coinage of Nepal). Lalitpur 2016 (= AD 1961) (182 pp. and 31 plates).
* Joshi, Satya Mohan: Nepali Rashtriya Mudra (National Coinage of Nepal). Lalitpur 2042 (= AD 1985).173 pp. and 40 plates).
* Rhodes, N
cholas
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...
G
rvase Gabrisch, Karl and Valdettaro Pontecorvo de la Rocchetta, Carlo: The Coinage of Nepal from the earliest times until 1911. Royal Numismatic Society, Special Publication No. 21, London, 1989 (249 pp and 51 plates).
* Shrestha, Mandakini: Catalogue of National Numismatic Museum. His Majesty Government Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation. Department of Archaeology, Chhauni, Kathmandu, B.S. 2062 (= AD 2005).
* Shrestha, Ramesh: Nepalese Coins and Bank Notes (1911 to 1955 CE). Published by Kazi Madhusudan Raj Bhandary, Kathmandu, 2007. .
* Walsh, E.H.: The Coinage of Nepal With a Scholarly Introduction by Dr. T.P.Verma. Reprinted by Indological Book House, Delhi and Varanasi, 1973 (Originally published in JRAS in 1908). (91 pp. and 7 plates).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nepalese Mohar
Currencies of Nepal
Economic history of Nepal
1932 disestablishments in Nepal
Modern obsolete currencies
17th-century establishments in Nepal