Description
Eager to emulate the coin minting priviliges of their British rivals in India, who were already striking Mughal style rupees, the French obtained, at a great price, a concession to do so from the Mughal vassal, the Nawab of Arcot. These examples have shroff marks or bankers / cashiers marks, from contemporary testing of the coins metal with a small sharp tool. Counterfeiting was commmonplace enough to prompt coin users to routinely test the quality of the silver by exposing the subsurface layers of the coin.