Shivrai was a copper coin minted during the rule of
Marathas and remained in circulation till the end of the 19th century, primarily in the
Bombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
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
Paisa (also transliterated as ''pice'', ''pesa'', ''poysha'', ''poisha'' and ''baisa'') is a monetary unit in several countries. The word is also a generalised idiom for money and wealth. In India, Nepal, and Pakistan, the ''Paisa'' currently equa ...
, 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 became ''
Chhatrapati
Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit language.The word ‘Chhatrapati’ is a Sanskrit language compound word (tatpurusha in Sanskrit) of ''Chatra (umbrella), chhatra'' (''parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and ''pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). Th ...
'' of the Maratha empire, as a symbol of
sovereignty, the ''Rajyaabhisheka Shaka'' (The Coronation Era) was started. On the occasion of
coronation, special
coins were minted, including a gold coin called '' Shivrai Hon''. These coins have ''Shri Raja ShivaChhatrapati,'' in
Devanagari, 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
EIC may refer to:
Companies and organizations
*East India Company, a major British company that once controlled major parts of the Indian subcontinent
*East India Club
* East India Comedy, an Indian comedy group
* Edison Illuminating Company
* ...
'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
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