Mughal silver rupee

The Mughal silver rupee is a broad silver coin issued by the rulers of the Mughal Empire. The monetary denomination was adopted from the silver rupiya introduced by Sher Shah Suri of the Sur Empire, who established a new civic and military administration and issued the coin at a weight of 178 grains. The Mughal Empire retained this standard and weight as its primary currency unit across the Indian subcontinent.

The silver rupee remained in continuous production throughout the Mughal period. While the standard 178-grain specification was maintained as the general basis of the currency, certain rulers following the Emperor Akbar occasionally struck heavier rupees. An exceptional variation occurred in 1604 and 1605, when coins depicting the Hindu deities Ram and Sita were produced in silver and gold; however, minting of these pictorial pieces ended immediately after Akbar's death in 1605.

By the mid-seventeenth century, European powers began minting coinage under the patronage of the Mughal Empire. Coins struck in Bengal were fashioned directly in the Mughal style, and in 1717 the British obtained official permission from Emperor Farrukh Siyar to coin Mughal money at the Bombay mint. Standard Mughal silver rupees are distinguished by their broad flans bearing Persian calligraphic legends that record the name of the reigning emperor, the issuing mint, and the regnal or Hijra year.