Baldwin's Profiles a Gold Nazarana Mohur of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II (March 2025)
On March 11, 2025, the dealer and auction house A H Baldwin & Sons published an article on a gold Nazarana Mohur of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II (1759-1806 AD). Baldwin's describes the Nazarana Mohur as a presentation piece given as a gift, not an ordinary circulation coin, and calls this example "likely one-of-a-kind."
Correction (Oct 13, 2026): We corrected the headline, summary and body to match the source. We removed material not in the source, including weights, specific gravity, mint names, the Treaty of Allahabad, market trends, price outlook, investment value and authentication methods; presented the "likely one-of-a-kind" description as the dealer's own assessment; and made clear that the article dates from March 2025. The previous headline was "Shah Alam II Gold Nazarana Mohur: How Declining Empires Minted Prestige."
On March 11, 2025, the dealer and auction house A H Baldwin & Sons (Baldwin's) published an article on its website about a gold Nazarana Mohur of the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II (AH 1173-1221 / 1759-1806 AD). The account below follows that article.
What a Nazarana Mohur Is
According to Baldwin's, the Nazarana Mohur was not an ordinary circulation coin. It was a presentation piece struck in pure gold and given as a gift to nobles, foreign dignitaries and members of the imperial court. The dealer says these coins symbolised loyalty, wealth and prestige and were often produced in limited quantities.
Design
Baldwin's writes that Shah Alam II's Nazarana Mohurs carried Persian calligraphy with his full imperial titles on the obverse. The reverse often showed the mint name, date and regnal year. Some versions had floral patterns or decorative borders.
The Emperor's Reign
The article says that by the time Shah Alam II took the throne in 1759, the Mughal Empire was little more than a shadow of its former self. The empire had been fractured by the Marathas, the Afghans and the British East India Company, and he ruled in name only.
In 1788, the warlord Ghulam Qadir stormed Delhi, took the emperor captive, tortured him for days and gouged out his eyes, leaving him completely blind. The Marathas later executed Ghulam Qadir and restored Shah Alam II to the throne as a British vassal, the article says.
Baldwin's notes that coins like the Nazarana Mohur continued to be struck despite the emperor's lack of power.
The Dealer's Description
Baldwin's describes this example as "likely one-of-a-kind" and calls it an extraordinarily rare coin. This is the dealer's own assessment. The article does not give the coin's price, weight, mint or date.
Source: Baldwin's, "India, Mughal Empire, Shah Alam II (AH 1173-1221 / 1759-1806 AD), gold Nazarana Mohur" (March 11, 2025).
Read next
Weekly Market Intelligence
Weekly rare coin intelligence — auctions, price action, and analysis, delivered via LINE.
Free · Instant · Block anytime