This is a
rare full
flan Paisa issued at the time of the Indian mutiny or rebellion by Brijis Qadr, the 11 year old Nawab of Awadh 1857/8.
His father Wajid Ali Shah
had been deposed and exiled by the British and the boys mother Begum Hazrat Mahal, who
had been leading the rebels in Awadh, declared him the new Nawab of Awadh on June 5th 1858.
Qadr subsequently wrote to Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II, asking for confirmation of
his regency. This was granted, and he was awarded the title of Wazir.
In May 1858 the young Qadr wrote a letter to Jung Bahadur Rana, the Prime Minister of Nepal, claiming that the British
had corrupted the faiths of the Hindus and Muslims of the state, and urged him to send
his troops to Awadh to
help fight the British. The unsympathetic Rana rejected the accusations and refused to
help Qadr, instead asking him to surrender to
Henry Montgomery
Lawrence, the commissioner of
Lucknow, and ask for pardon.
Meanwhile, as the most of the local rebels
had been defeated and subjected to exemplary punishment by the British, Qadr and Begum Hazrat crossed the
West Rapti River to take refuge in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Coins were struck in imitation of earlier Awadh issues so the date and regnal year are fictitious.
The original issues were struck with the
mint name Muhammadabad Banares, while those of Qadr have Awadh (Oudh) at the top of the
reverse and Subah at the bottom, both usually off
flan but fully visible here
12.04g