1⁄16 Rupee – Arcot

In 1770, the Carnatic region of South India, with Arcot as its capital, was in a state of profound political and monetary instability. The Nawab of Arcot, Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, was a key British ally but was deeply indebted to both the British East India Company and private European creditors. His treasury was chronically depleted, exacerbated by the cost of maintaining military forces and paying tributes. This fiscal crisis directly impacted the currency, as the Nawab’s authority to issue and maintain a stable coinage was severely weakened, leading to a chaotic monetary environment.

The currency system itself was a complex mosaic. The primary silver coin was the Arcot rupee, but it circulated alongside a plethora of other rupees from neighboring Mughal successor states, as well as gold pagodas and smaller copper coins. The value and purity of these coins varied widely, creating a nightmare for trade and taxation. Furthermore, the British East India Company was increasingly asserting its own financial and political control, minting its own coins at the Madras mint and effectively competing with the Nawab’s currency for legitimacy and widespread use.

This period marked a critical transition from indigenous monetary sovereignty to colonial control. The Nawab’s inability to manage his debts or his currency allowed the British to deepen their economic entanglement. By 1770, the financial chaos in Arcot was not merely a matter of coinage but a symptom of the larger collapse of local authority, paving the way for the Company to formalize its fiscal dominance in the ensuing decades, ultimately absorbing the Carnatic into its direct administration.