The Uniform Coinage of India, East India Company: Patterns, William IV, silver Pattern mule Rupee, 1835, [type 4], Calcutta, unsigned [by K. Dass], bust right, r.s. [Robert Saunders] on truncation, william iiii , king . in small widely-spaced lettering, rev. as the currency coin, one rupee, yek rupiya surrounded by laurel wreath with extra berry at top on left side, east india company around, date below with stop to right, edge grained, 30mm, 11.70g/11h (Prid. – [178 obv., 32 rev.]; SW – [1.32 obv., 1.36 rev.]; cf. KM. Pn11 for obv.; cf. Oswal 23, 119). Extremely fine and toned, exceptionally rare and almost certainly the finest known; only one other noted in commerce in the last 20 years £1,500-£2,000

This lot is to be sold as part of a special collection, The Puddester Collection.

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Collection

Sir John Wheeler Collection, Baldwin Auction 22 (London), 2 May 2000, lot 196 [from Spink (London) February 1972].

Two owner’s tickets, envelope and record card, “Another Robert Saunders pattern that was overlooked at the Wheeler sale...”.

The obverse die, originally paired as a pattern with a reverse featuring a lotus flower at its centre (see previous lot: Prid. 178; SW 1.32), was used for striking currency coins for a short time after their inception. This coin was examined and authenticated by Pridmore in February 1980