⅛ Rupee – Maratha Empire

By 1807, the currency situation within the Maratha Empire was one of profound fragmentation and decline, mirroring the political instability following the defeat at the Battle of Pune in 1802 and the subsequent imposition of the Treaty of Bassein. The once-centralized authority of the Peshwa had eroded, with power devolving to major chieftains like the Scindias of Gwalior, the Holkars of Indore, and the Bhonsles of Nagpur. Each of these virtually autonomous courts issued their own distinct coinage—silver rupees and copper coins—featuring their names and symbols, leading to a complex mosaic of circulating currencies with varying weights and purities. This lack of a uniform standard severely hampered regional trade and created chronic confusion in financial transactions.

The situation was further complicated by the heavy financial burden of the subsidiary alliance with the British East India Company. The Peshwa in Pune and the various Maratha chiefs were obligated to pay large, fixed annual subsidies to the Company for the maintenance of its subsidiary forces. These payments, stipulated in hard silver rupees, drained the treasuries of the Maratha states, leading to a scarcity of specie (coinage) within the empire. To meet these demands and fund their own administrations, rulers often resorted to debasing their coinage by reducing the silver content, which further eroded public trust in the currency and fueled inflation, punishing the common populace.

Consequently, the monetary landscape was a patchwork of competing and depreciating currencies, with British Company rupees—notably the uniform and reliable Sicca Rupee—increasingly seen as a more stable medium of exchange, especially in areas of strong British political influence. This monetary disintegration was both a symptom and a cause of the empire's weakening sovereignty. The inability to control a unified currency system undermined economic cohesion and state revenue, making the Maratha confederacy increasingly vulnerable to the expanding financial and political system of the British East India Company, which would ultimately annex its territories within a decade.