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Description

British India. Victoria "S.S. City of Cairo" Rupee 1891-B WWII Silver NGC, Bombay mint, KM492. With the 5.181 Meters holder. Salvaged from the "S.S. City of Cairo" (sunk in 1942 off St Helena Island, west of southern Africa). Type in production from 1877-1901.

On October 1st, 1942, the British passenger Steamship, S.S. City of Cairo, set sail to bring supplies to the United Kingdom during the height of World War II. The ship was carrying 101 passengers, including women and children, timber, wool, cotton, manganese ore, pig iron, and at least 2,000 boxes of silver coins. On November 1st, the ship was torpedoed down by German submarine U-68 under the command of Karl-Fredrich Merten. After the S.S. City of Cairo sank, the commander of the German submarine, Merten, gave the survivors the course to the nearest land and told them, "Goodnight, and sorry for sinking you." These coins were salvaged in 2013 and were the deepest marine salvage in history at 5,181 meters (17,000 feet). A large amount of these coins were melted down by the British government.

Metal: Silver


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Auction Info

Proxy Bidding Ends 
November
11th Tuesday 6:50 pm CT
Auction Dates
November
11th Tuesday
Proxy Bidding Time Remaining 
15 Days 9h 38m 58s
Internet/Mail Bids: 11
Lot Tracking Activity: 21
Page Views: 139

Buyer's Premium per Lot:
20% of the successful bid (minimum $29) per lot.

This lot is in: 1 - World & Ancient Coins Session
(Lots 24001-24321) - 7:00 PM Central Time, Tuesday, November 11, 2025.
[Proxy bidding ends ten minutes prior to the session start time. Live Proxy bidding on Heritage Live now starts within 2 hours of when the auction opens for proxy bidding and continues through the live session.]

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Additional Location Info:
Heritage Auctions
2801 W. Airport Freeway
Dallas, TX 75261

Current Bid:
$65
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