Mughal era coin stolen from city museum

An 18th century gold coin of Mughal Emperor Mohammed Shah’s time went missing after caretaker of Paldi museum goes to attend phone call

The stolen gold coin belongs to Mughal Emperor Mohammed Shah’s era. The antique 10.5 gm coin of 1748 was stolen in the afternoon when the in-charge of the museum at Sanskar Kendra in Paldi had gone to attend a phone call. At the time, the museum was teeming with visitors.

Though the coin is considered priceless, sixbid.com, a website that claims to be experts in numismatics auctions, estimates the value of the coin at $600 (Rs 28,300)

A source at the museum said, “Like every year, class 10 toppers of the city had gathered at Sanskar Kendra after the results were declared on Thursday. Besides, persons preparing for an exhibition on World Environment Day on Saturday were present there at the time.”

As per the complaint filed by Vijay Thakkar, assistant manager of the museum, the incident occurred between 11 am and 12.45 pm.

Usually, the museum doesn’t have many visitors. However, on Thursday, the place had a huge number of students. “At the time, the caretaker left the place to attend a phone call. When he returned the over 250-year-old coin that was kept on display was gone,” the source said.

Who was Mohammed Shah?

Mohammed Shah (1748 –1702) also known as Roshan Akhtar was a Mughal emperor of India between 1719 and 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar Jahan Shah, the 4th son of Bahadur Shah I. Ascending the throne at the age of 17 with the help of the Sayyid Brothers, he later got rid of them with the help of Nizam ul Mulk Chin Qilich Khan. He was nicknamed as Rangeela meaning merrymaker by many historians.
 (Source: Wikipedia)