French India, formally the Établissements français dans l'Inde ("French establishments in India"), was a French colony comprising geographically separate enclaves on the Indian subcontinent. The possessions were originally acquired by the French East India Company beginning in the second half of the 17th century, and were de facto incorporated into the Union of India in 1950 and 1954. The French establishments included Pondichéry, Karikal and Yanaon on the Coromandel Coast, Mahé on the Malabar Coast and Chandernagor in Bengal. French India also included several loges ("lodges", subsidiary trading stations) in other towns, but after 1816, the loges had little commercial importance and the towns to which they were attached came under British administration.
1 Rupee - Ahmad Shah Bahadur - KM#8
Obv : Ahmad Shah Bahadur, AH Date out of flan
Rev : Julus (formula), mint name, RY#5
Details :
Plain Edge.
The
French were pretty desperate to have their own coins in the mughal
style, seeing the benefits enjoyed by their English rivals. After a
series of failed negotiations with the mughal authorities (which started
as early as 1718), they finally managed to obtain the necessary
permission from the Nawab of Arcot (which cost them a huge sum of
money). The silver Rupees that bore the mint name Arkat were actually
minted at Pondicherry. These were issued in the names of mughal emperors
Muhammad Shah, Ahmad Shah, Alamgir II, and Shah Alam II. Coins in the
name of Shah Alam II continued to be minted even after his death in 1806
(till 1840, when the mint was closed). From 1817, a single Hijri year
1221, and the corresponding regnal year 45, appears on all coins.
Production of coins at the Pondicherry mint was halted between 1761-63,
1778-83, 1793-1802, and 1803-1816, periods during which the town was
under English occupation.
KM#8
1 Rupee - Shah Alam II - KM#15
Obv : Sikka zad bar haft Kishwur / Sayaye Fazl, Shah Alam Bad Shah / elah Hami Din Mohammad.
(Legend from bottom to top)
AH xx18
Translation: Struck coin in the seven Climes, the shadow of the divine favour, the emperor Shah Alam, the defender of the faith of Muhammad.
Translation: Struck coin in the seven Climes, the shadow of the divine favour, the emperor Shah Alam, the defender of the faith of Muhammad.
Rev : Zarb Arkat / sanat 43 julus / maimanet / manus.
(Legend from bottom to top)
Translation: Struck at Arkat in the year 43 of his reign of tranquil prosperity.
Details :
Plain Edge
The French were pretty desperate to have their own coins in the mughal style, seeing the benefits enjoyed by their English rivals. After a series of failed negotiations with the mughal authorities (which started as early as 1718), they finally managed to obtain the necessary permission from the Nawab of Arcot (which cost them a huge sum of money). The silver Rupees that bore the mint name Arkat were actually minted at Pondicherry. These were issued in the names of mughal emperors Muhammad Shah, Ahmad Shah, Alamgir II, and Shah Alam II. Coins in the name of Shah Alam II continued to be minted even after his death in 1806 (till 1840, when the mint was closed). From 1817, a single Hijri year 1221, and the corresponding regnal year 45, appears on all coins. Production of coins at the Pondicherry mint was halted between 1761-63, 1778-83, 1793-1802, and 1803-1816, periods during which the town was under English occupation.
KM#15 1 Rupee - Shah Alam II - KM#15
Obv : Sikka zad bar haft Kishwur / Sayaye Fazl, Shah Alam Bad Shah / elah Hami Din Mohammad.
(Legend from bottom to top)
AH 1220
Translation: Struck coin in the seven Climes, the shadow of the divine favour, the emperor Shah Alam, the defender of the faith of Muhammad.
Translation: Struck coin in the seven Climes, the shadow of the divine favour, the emperor Shah Alam, the defender of the faith of Muhammad.
Rev : Zarb Arkat / sanat 45 julus / maimanet / manus.
(Legend from bottom to top)
Translation: Struck at Arkat in the year 45 of his reign of tranquil prosperity.
Details :
Plain Edge
The French were pretty desperate to have their own coins in the mughal style, seeing the benefits enjoyed by their English rivals. After a series of failed negotiations with the mughal authorities (which started as early as 1718), they finally managed to obtain the necessary permission from the Nawab of Arcot (which cost them a huge sum of money). The silver Rupees that bore the mint name Arkat were actually minted at Pondicherry. These were issued in the names of mughal emperors Muhammad Shah, Ahmad Shah, Alamgir II, and Shah Alam II. Coins in the name of Shah Alam II continued to be minted even after his death in 1806 (till 1840, when the mint was closed). From 1817, a single Hijri year 1221, and the corresponding regnal year 45, appears on all coins. Production of coins at the Pondicherry mint was halted between 1761-63, 1778-83, 1793-1802, and 1803-1816, periods during which the town was under English occupation.
KM#15 
References :
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_India
- Standard Catalog of World Coins - Krause Publication
