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NEPAL: Girvan Yuddha Vikrama, 1799-1816, AV 4 mohars, (23.11g), SE1720 (1802), PCGS Specimen 63

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - Asia & Middle-East Start Price:15,000.00 USD Estimated At:18,000.00 - 22,000.00 USD
NEPAL: Girvan Yuddha Vikrama, 1799-1816, AV 4 mohars, (23.11g), SE1720 (1802), PCGS Specimen 63
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NEPAL: Girvan Yuddha Vikrama, 1799-1816, AV 4 mohars (duitola asarphi) (23.11g), SE1720 (1802), cf. Rhodes-727/730, struck circa 1849 for the visit of Jung Bahadur Rana to London the following year, a historically significant example of the highest rarity! PCGS graded Specimen 63.

Jung Bahadur was the powerful prime minister and de facto ruler of Nepal from 1846 to 1877. After deposing King Rajendra and exiling Queen Rajya Lakshmi, he installed the young King Surendra as a figurehead and ruled Nepal under the hereditary title of Rana, a position which he would hold for life and then pass on to other members of his family until 1951. Jung Bahadur maintained a friendly relationship with Great Britain and sent Gurkha soldier to aid British war efforts during the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-49) and the Great Rebellion (1857). As a part of his diplomatic effort, he made an official visit to London and met with Queen Victoria at St. James Palace on June 19, 1850. It was during that occasion that Jung Bahadur presented the queen with specially made gold coins, known as the duitola asarphi (duitola means two tolas), which were struck in the name of Surendra and each of his five predecessors. They are dated as follows: Prithvi Narayan, SE1693 (1771); Pratap Simha, SE1698 (1776); Rana Bahadur, SE1718 (1796); Girvan Yuddha, SE1721 (1799); Rajendra Vikrama, SE1762 (1840); Surendra Vikrama, SE1769 (1847). The original examples of these types are all preserved at the British Museum. The first four are certainly made well after their stated dates, as the tola wasn't standardized at 180 grains (11.65g) until 1833 by the British East India Company. In fact, the reverse die for the Prithvi Narayan example was also used for the duitola asarphi of Surendra dated SE1769 (1847), the first year that this denomination was actually struck for circulation. It is very likely Jung Bahadur ordered the production of all six coins specifically for his visit. In his publication on Nepalese coinage, Nicholas Rhodes knew of only one other example, a duplicate of Prithvi Narayan in his own collection. The present example is thus of the utmost rarity.