The coinage of Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan represents a unique confluence of political assertion, military ambition, and monetary innovation. These coins are more than metal; they are chronicles of a transitional moment in South Indian history when the Mysore Kingdom rose to resist colonial expansion and asserted its sovereignty not just through battlefields, but through mints, symbols, and script. For over a century, the most referenced guide to this numismatic legacy was J R Henderson’s The Coins of Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, published in 1921. Henderson’s work was pioneering for its time, and its clarity and structure have served as a foundation for collectors and scholars alike. However, much has changed in the field since then.

In the last few decades, new discoveries, enhanced access to archival material, digitized museum records, and an increasingly active collector community have brought to light a wide array of coins not documented in Henderson’s catalogue. Additional mints, both official and vassal, have been identified. New typologies have surfaced. Inscriptions once dismissed as blundered have been re-read, weights re-verified, and dates realigned using both Hijri and Mauludi calendrical systems. The understanding of the political context in which these coins were struck, across regions like Cuddapah, Dindigul, Chitradurga, and Gooty, has deepened significantly. It was with this backdrop that the need for a new, comprehensive, and updated catalogue became clear. This book aims to be that modern reference. It presents an expansive catalogue of the coinage issued during the reigns of Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan.