Coins of the Kingdom of Mysore

The Kingdom of Mysore, situated in southwest India was ruled by various Hindu dynasties. In 1761 A.D. (1750-1779 A.D.), Hyder Ali, a military man overthrew Wodeyer ruler and became king. In this region, coins of both the Mughal and Vijayanagar standards were current. His coin issues comprised of the iconographic forms of Vijayanagar period (Hara-Gauri) with his initial, the letter “Tay” on the reverse. Tipu, his son (1750 - 1799 A.D.), after succeeding him assumed the title of Sultan Tipu minted very interesting coins, mostly with elephant on obverse. His most popular coin is ‘double rupee’. He introduced various innovations and varieties in his coinage, continuing with pagodas, the mohurs, and introduced his own standards. His coin did not bear his name. In 1799 A.D. he laid his life when Britishers attacked Mysore.