58 E. Thurston — History of the Hast India Company Coinage. [No. 1, 
The fact is incidentally mentioned that, when the Shdhzada (Shah 
’A'lam) invaded Bihar, the mint accompanied him, and a large quantity 
of Benares rupees were melted down and coined into ‘ rikabees ’ ( rikdb , 
a stirrup) which were lr. 2ch. deficient in weight, and of 64 chauwals 
assay, but were made to pass in the camp as sikkas of the established 
weight and fineness. It is also noted that two lacs of rupees were 
annually melted down for the manufacture of the laces and rich stuffs 
for which Benares was celebrated. 
From Mr. Barlow’s sketch the following account of the coinage of 
copper has been derived. 
The pice current in the city and district of Benares previous to 
the establishment of the mint, were mostly coined at Gorakhpur in 
Oudh from copper brought from the northern hills. The first coinage 
of pice at Benares was in the 23rd year of the reign of Muhammad 
Shah (1742), when 100 maunds weight were struck with the die of the 
sikka rupee. From that period till the 4th year of the reign of Shah 
’A'lam (1762), no pice were coined in the Benares mint. In the 5th 
year the farmer of the mint purchased some English copper, and coined 
it into pice of 10 maslias stamped with the die of Gorakhpur’. The 
number exchanged for a rupee was 45 to 48. The coinage of pice was 
again discontinued until the 17th year (1776), when it was re-established 
by permission of Raja Chait Singh. The new pice were 10m. 3r. in 
weight, and passed current at about 50 or 51 to the rupee. In the 
following year a quantity of copper was brought to Benares from 
Calcutta, and the coining of pice and exclusive privilege of buying and 
selling copper in Benares granted to one Kashmiru Mall for Rs. 5,000. 
The weight of the coins continued to be 10m. 3r. and they passed in 
the bazar at about 52 or 53 per rupee. In the 19th and 20th years 
the coinage was declared free, and those who brought copper received 
pice in return, after paying duties. In the 21st year (1779) a consider- 
able revolution took place in the copper coinage. The Nawab Vizier 
issued orders to the officers of the Allahabad mint to reduce the weight 
of the pice to 9m. 2r. The merchants, finding that their maund of 
copper yielded 3,650 pice at Allahabad and only 3,250 at Benares, 
carried all their copper to the former place. The coinage of pice was, 
consequently, at a stand still, only 29 maunds being coined during the 
year. Large quantities of the new Allahabad pice were brought by 
merchants to Benares. Raja Chait Singh at first refused to authorise 
their currency, but at length gave his consent, and the Allahabad pice 
of 9m. 3r. were declared current, and ordered to be received in payment 
in common with the old pice of 10m. 3r. The result was that the 
bankers contrived to lower the value of the pice altogether, and were 
