(Vendida por $2.0)

1968, Nepal, Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. Silver 10 Rupee Coin. FAO Issue!

Mint Year: 1968
Reference: KM-794.
Condition: Scattered toning, otherwise XF-AU!
Denomination: 10 Rupees - F.A.O. (Food & Agriculture Organisation) Issue
Material: Silver (.600)
Weight: 15.57gm
Diameter: 32mm

Due to its location between Tibet and India, Nepal once stood on vital trade routes through the mountains connecting these regions. The coinage of India inspired the coins of Nepal, and for hundreds of years Nepal has issued its own unique coins. The modern coins of Nepal are dated according to the Vikram Samvat era, which started in 57 B.C. The king is believed to personify Vishnu, the Hindu preserver of life and protector of the universe.

Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was King of Nepal from 1955 to 1972.

King Mahendra was described by many historians as an ambitious, autocratic, and an undemocratic ruler, whose opinion regarding democracy was biased and unconstitutional. Even so, he was known for his shrewd, observant and cunning character, which is what lead to his success as an absolute authoritarian. Other historians would argue that he was a true patriot ("Ma mare pani mero desh bachi rahos.") and was revered as the 'Builder of Nepal' as he had built many monuments, buildings and other important things, the most prominent ones being the "East-West Highway" and the Pragya Pratisthan Bhawan.

Mahendra was crowned on 2 May 1956. He succeeded Tribhuvan as King of Nepal.

On 15 December 1960 he suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament, dismissed the cabinet, imposed direct rule and imprisoned then prime minister Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala and his closest government colleagues. Mahendra instituted a Panchayat hierarchical system of village, district and national councils, a variant of guided democracy. He pursued a foreign policy of neutrality between China and India.

Mahendra was made a British Field Marshal in 1960. Mahendra implemented a land reform policy, which provided land to many landless people. The Mahendra Highway (also called East-West Highway) that runs along the entire Terai belt in southern Nepal was constructed during his reign. He launched the Back to the Village National Campaign in 1967 which was one of his largest rural development efforts. He also played a key role in making Nepal a member of the United Nations in 1955 A.D.

Mahendra suffered a heart attack while hunting in Chitwan with Tiger Tops Hotel proprietor John Coapman, also associated with the CIA at the time, who reported in 1977 that Mahendra died in his arms after eating dinner "on shikar" and died 31 January 1972 in Bharatpur.

His son Birendra assumed the throne on 24 February 1975 but died 1 June 2001 along with siblings Dhirendra, Shanti and Sharada in the Nepalese royal massacre. Shobha was wounded but survived and Gyanendra was not present. As of May 2010 Mahendra is also survived by his widow, Queen Mother Ratna.