Shivrai was a copper coin minted during the rule of

Marathas The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...

and remained in circulation till the end of the 19th century, primarily in the Bombay Presidency region. Before 1830s, shivrai was valued at 1/74 to 1/80 of a rupee. There are 150 different types of shivrai extant to date. In 1885, the British government ordered all local revenue collectors (Mamlatdars) to collect all shivrais and deposit them in treasury. The purpose of this was to bring the new pice, worth 1/64 of rupee, in currency by eliminating this native rival. In 1890, Rev. Abbott collected and studied around 25,000 shivrais. He mentions that they were still in circulation. The shivrai remained in circulation till the end of the 19th century.

Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shivrai

When the Maratha warrior

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...

became '' Chhatrapati'' of the Maratha empire, as a symbol of

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

, the ''Rajyaabhisheka Shaka'' (The Coronation Era) was started. On the occasion of

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

, special

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

s were minted, including a gold coin called '' Shivrai Hon''. These coins have ''Shri Raja ShivaChhatrapati,'' in

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

, inscribed on them.

Dudandi Shivrai

Dudandi Shivrais (Marathi: दुदांडी शिवराई) were minted during Peshwa period. Dudandi literally means two-bars. The "Shri" at the top of the obverse is underlined. This horizontal line, combined with the horizontal heading line of the word "Raja", gives us an impression of "Double bars", hence the term "Dudandi".

EIC's Shivrai

The British East India Company minted Shivrais at Poona during the period of 1820-1830. Unlike Earlier Shivrais, these contained year of minting on it. The dotted collar of earlier Shivrais is also absent. The year was given in Fasli era.

References

History of India Coins of India Shivaji Monuments and memorials to Shivaji {{coin-stub