2 Paisa - Prithvi Bir Bikram

Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah came to the throne in 1881 at age five, leaving effective power in the hands of his mother, Queen Regent Triodevi, and later the Rana prime ministers who would dominate Nepal's government for decades. This copper issue dates to the early consolidation of Rana authority under Prime Minister Bir Shamsher, who seized power in a bloody palace coup in 1885. The coins produced under his administration reflect a deliberate effort to regularize Nepal's chaotic pre-existing coinage, which had varied wildly between mints and reigns.