The Mohur, meaning symbol or seal, was first introduced in 1540 by the Mughal Emperor Sher Shah Suri, the founder of the Sur Empire in Northern India, known locally as Sher Khan or the Lion King.

The Mohur was seen as a symbol of the Emperor’s power and wealth, its weight carefully specified as 11.66g or one ‘Tola’, a traditional Indian unit whose name derives from the Sanskrit word for "weighing" or "weight”.

The Tola was standardised as a measure of gold and silver bullion in British India in 1833, and the Mohur’s specification remains tightly controlled to 11.66g to this day.