Glenbuchat Heritage

84 John Forbes mourning coin

The Coins above are included in a collection of artifacts retained after the demolition of Castle Newe.

They relate to the time when the Forbes family traded in Bombay (present Mumbai) in the Trading Huse of Forbes & Co. The Firm was started by John Forbes of Bellabeg, known as Bombay Jock, and was possibly the largest Trading House certainly in the western side of India.

Click for more details about ‘Bombay Jock’

Click for more details about mourning ring for ‘Bombay Jock’

The photos show:
1. Both sides of an Indian coin from Newe with inscribed edges.
2. Both sides from a similar coin from an on-line catalogue, thus identifying the coin
2. Photos of the rim of the coin to show inscriptions relating to the birth and death dates of John Forbes. The coin was inscribed to commemorate the death of John Forbes. Like the inscribed Mourning Ring in a previous page, presumably the inscribed coin was given to friends and relatives of the deceased as a ‘memento mori’.

Inscription

John Forbes of Bombay Born 19 Sept 1713 Died 20th June 1821

Identity of the coin

The coin is Identified as follows:

India, Colonial. British India. Bombay Presidency. 1612/3-1835. AV Mohur (18mm, 11.58 g, 9h). Surat mint type. Struck at Mumbai (Bombay).
Dated RY 46 of Shah Alam II (Struck 1803-1824).
Persian couplet citing name and titles of Shah Alam II, (The auspicious coin of the victorious emperor Shah Alam);
Pridmore mintmark 4A above “shah” incorporating an inverted crown at right, rev. zarb surat sanah 46 julus maimanat manus (Struck at Surat in the 46th year of tranquil prosperity)
Pridmore 262; KM 669.3.

By 1851, the East India Company's vast and growing holdings across the sub-continent were still grouped into just four main territories:

Bengal Presidency with its capital at Calcutta
Bombay Presidency with its capital at Bombay
Madras Presidency with its capital at Madras
North-Western Provinces with the seat of the lieutenant-governor at Agra.

Bombay Presidency

Following a naval victory over the Portuguese on December 24, 1612, negotiations were started developed into the opening of the first East India Company factory at Surat in 1613. It later grew to encompass much of western and central India, as well as part of the Arabian Peninsula and areas later included in Pakistan. At its greatest extent, the Bombay Presidency comprised the present-day state of Gujarat, the western two-thirds of Maharashtra state, including the regions of Konkan, Desh, and Kandesh, and northwestern Karnataka state of India; it also included Pakistan’s Sindh province (1843-1935) and the British territory of Aden in Yemen (1839-1939). It consisted of districts which were directly under British rule. It did not include the native or princely states, whose internal administration was the responsibility of local rulers, but it was responsible for managing the defence of many princely states and for British relations with them.

Silver coins of the New World as well as various other foreign coins were used in early trade. Within the decade the Mughal mint at Surat was melting all of these foreign coins and re-minting them as various denominations of Mughal coinage. Bombay became an English holding as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, Princess of Portugal when she was betrothed to Charles II of England. Also including in the dowry was Tangier and $5 00,000. With this acquisition the trading centre of the Indian West Coast moved from Surat to Bombay.

Possession of Bombay Island took place on February 08, 1665 and by 1672 the East India Company had a mint in Bombay to serve their trading interests. European designed coins were struck here until 1717. Experimental issues of Mughal style Rupees with regnal years pertaining to the reigns of James II and William and Mary were made in 1693-1694.

From 1717 to l778, the Mughal style Bombay Rupee was the principal coin of the West India trade, although bulk foreign coins were used for striking Rupees at Surat. After the East India Company took over the city of Surat in 1800, they slowed the mint production and finally transferred all activity to Bombay in 1815. Bombay presidency coins were produced from l672 to 1835. Bombay is now known as Mumbai these days.

Monetary System: Rupee = 64 Pice (Paisa) = 192 Pie = 256 Reas. [Mohur (Ashrafi) = 15 Rupees; Anglina Rupee = 48 Copperooris = 528 Tinnys (Bujruk) ].
Mints: Ahmadabad, Bombay (Mumbai), Surat and Tellicherry (Malabar Coast)
Banner words: AUSP: REG: &: SEN. AN G = "Under the auspices of the king and senate of England".