India Hyderabad Anna, Rupee (silver), and Ashrafi (gold) 1905 to 1945

That gorgeous palace is the distinguishing feature on this coin from the Hyderabad princely state of India (now the state of Andhra Pradesh). There are many variations of this coin, but they all have the palace. According to Worldwide Numismatics, the palace is the Charminar building, built in the late 16th century.

Figuring out exactly what coin you have is difficult for us Westerners. If you start by decoding the year on the coin (it shows just below the palace in eastern Arabic numerals), and you measure the coin's diameter in millimeters, you can use the data below to serve as a guide to the series.

Other distinquishing features from coin to coin are the precious metal content, which is either gold or silver, and the presence or absence of the square, chain-like pattern around the perimeter (compare first and second picture).

Finally, the dates are Hejira (AH) dates. They are based on the Mohammedan calendar and use the time of Mohammed's life (around 600 AD) and the lunar, not solar, year. The date range of these coins covers AH1323 = 1905AD to AH1365 = 1945AD.

The values shown below are catalog values for coins in average circulated condition. As always, value goes up as wear goes down. Multiply the values by about three to get the catalog values for uncirculated coins. Use our Terminology page to convert catalog values to actual buy and sell values.

2 ANNAS, 15 mm diameter, silver
date 1323: $8 US dollars catalog value average circulated
date 1362: $4
date 1368: $1 (minted in nickel)

4 ANNAS, 19 mm diameter, silver
date 1329: $14
date 1362 to 1365: $4
date 1368: $1 (minted in nickel)

8 ANNAS, 23 mm diameter, silver
date 1328 to 1329: $22
date 1363: $10
date 1366: $2 (minted in nickel)

1 RUPEE, 30 mm diamter, silver
date 1321 to 1329: $30
date 1361 to 1365: $12

1/8 ASHRAFI, 11 mm diameter, gold: 0.041 troy ounces gold
1/4 ASHRAFI, 15 mm diameter, gold: 0.081 troy ounces gold
1/2 ASHRAFI, 22 mm diameter, gold: 0.163 troy ounces gold
1 ASHRAFI, 25 mm diameter, gold: 0.327 troy ounces gold

To obtain the value of gold ashrafi, multiply its gold content in troy ounces by the current price of gold. You can find the current price on several web sites. My favorite is kitco.com. Add about $50 US dollars if your ashrafi is fully, absolutely uncirculated.
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