reason for persisting with the same date on the imperial coinage even after the critical year had passed. Jahangir Jahangir issued coins with the images of various zodiac signs to illustrate the date as well as portraits of himself with a cup of wine in his hand. This was resented by the clergy, as representation of living beings was forbidden in Islam. These coins were melted during the reign of Shah Jahan, and only a few specimens survive today. Maratha Empire The Marathas became powerful under leadership of Chatrapati Maharaj Shivaji who ascended to throne in 1674. The Marathas became very powerful and controlled vast territory of the Indian subcontinent by the early eighteenth century. The Marathas issued Shivrai coins. The obverse of the coin had the inscription ' Sri Raja Shiv' in devanagari. The reverse of the coin had 'Chatrapati' in devanagari. The coins were issued in copper for the masses. Very few gold coins known as Shivrai hon were also issued. British Colonial period (c. 1858–1947 CE) Uniform coinage was introduced in India by the British in 1835, with coins in the name of the East India Company, bearing the image of William IIII. In 1840, these were replaced by coins with an image of Queen Victoria, but the design otherwise remained the same. The next set of coins was minted in 1862 and had significant changes - East India Company was replaced by 'India'. The image of Queen Victoria was also changed, shown in a regal robe with a crown. In 1877, Victoria was declared the Empress of India - and her title on Indian coins changed as a result. This last design continued till 1938, with only the image of the ruler changing. Over this entire period, the weight of the Indian rupee and its purity remained constant at 11.66 grams and 91.7% respectively. Princely States Hyderabad State The Hyderabadi Rupee coins featured the Charminar. Travancore State Issues of the Travancore Rupee often had the names or insignia of the reigning monarch in English. The reverse features inscriptions in the native language of Malayalam. The year, when printed on the coins was based on the Malayalam calendar. Baroda state Gaekwads were officers in the Peshwa army. They proved their skills in the battlefield and rose to become generals. After the Marathas empire weakened Baroda became a semi independent state. The first coins issued by the Gaekwads