Mughal Rupee Shah Alam - 1, Khambayat "Zafar" couplet.

[asm]

The coin displayed at


was offered to me by a dealer and on an impulse I did buy it. It was unsold at the auction. The Dealer says (and it is also mentioned in the auction catalogue as "Shah Alam I, Silver, Rupee, Khambayat Mint, with Zafar couplet, AH 1119/10. Very Fine, Rare".) that it contains the word 'ZAFAR' as a part of the couplet. He claims it is unlisted. Could some one throw more light on this coin. I have posted a link here as the coin is sealed by the auctioneer and I do not wish to open it till I am certain that it is indeed a geniune and a rare coin.

I could not copy the image here. Would appreciate if some one could help with that too.

Amit

[Figleaf]

Both Rangnath and Oesho are having fun in Asia, Amit. They'll both be back early March, I gather. I am tempted to comment, but I'll restrain myself as Overlord, who has become very good with such coins may well have words of wisdom for you. Meanwhile, I'd just like to say that this is one extremely refined coin.

Peter

[Overlord]

Hi asm

Here is how I read your coin. (I have given page references to the glossary in Valentine's book so you could read the words yourself.)

Obverse (From bottom to top)
Sikka (Valentine p. 44)
Mubarak (Valentine, p. 43; the long horizontal line appears to be the "Kaf" of Mubarak)
(Fortunate money)
Alam
(Part of the emperor's name)
Badshah (Valentine, p. 40; the upper horizontal bar is the "Shah" of "Badshah")
(Emperor)
Ghazi (Valentine p. 42)
(The one who fights against infidels)

Reverse (From bottom to top)
The horizontal bar is the "Be" of Zarb (p. 44 of Valentine) (The mint name appears below this bar, but I guess only an expert like Oesho can make it out considering how little of it is visible.)
Jalus (P. 42 of Valentine)
(Reign)
The next word I am not pretty sure about. It could be "Sanat" with the regnal year (10) above, but that usually appears to the right of "Jalus". This could perhaps be a variation.
Maimanat (prosperity) (the long horizontal bar at the top)
Manus (P. 43 of Valentine)
(associated with)

[asm]

Peter,
I miss the activity on this part of the forum. The two of them made things lively. Hope they enjoy and are fully recharged when they return. However, I look forward to your take on the coin. Can you please explain 'refined' coin. I hope you do not believe that this is a modern issue?

Overlord,
Thank you for the excellent reply and the analisys. With this, I believe that, putting in a little bit of extra effort and patience, I may at least read a part if not the full legend on the Mughal Silver coins and some IPS issues. It may make life more fun - but the wife more angry (as the extra time will come out of the time I spend with the family.) On a more serious note, the dealer read the long horizontal bar at the top in the reverse immage as Zafar. You have mentioned it as Maimanat (prosperity). I have seen many Mughal coins but Maimanat is written as (from right) a shaky or vibrating line with a long straight line. This one looks different. I look forward to your take on this.

Amit

[asm]

Further to the above message, I visited the coin cabinet at SACG as well as Zeno. I found a few coins, mainly of Azimabad, with a different type of bar (maimanat) than the standard or what is seen the coin above. What is the significance or is it the die engravers fantasy?
One of the coins at SACG is of the Khambayat mint of the same RY as this but the maimanat is the standard. By the way, 1119 will corrospond to RY 1 or Ahd. The coin seems to show 10. Is it a case of too many variations or as I dread to think.. a fancy of some ones imagination?

Amit

[Overlord]

By the way, 1119 will corrospond to RY 1 or Ahd. The coin seems to show 10.

What I initially translated as "Mubarak" in my earlier attempt looks like "1119" on closer examination. (I need to see an optician!) The bar above it could then be "Shah". That gives us "Sikka Shah Alam Badshah Ghazi 1119".

Shah Alam I ruled for only five years (from AH1119-1124/AD1707-1712), so RY 10 won't be possible for him in any case. We can, therefore, take the regnal year as Ry 1 (or Ahd), as you rightly pointed out. I checked some examples at Zeno and this one with RY 1 also has that confusing dot after 1, as on your coin. 

"Zafar" vs. "Maimanat"

On a closer look, your dealer may well be right about Zafar. The vertical line of the "Zoe" is pretty thin and I missed it. Furthermore, this is not exactly how the "standard" Zoe looks like. (It looks like the lowercase English alphabet "b" with a dot just above the rounded part on the right.)

Here are both words for comparison.

Zafar (meaning Victory)

(The use of this word on the coin may have reference to Shah Alam Bahadur's victory over his brother Azam Shah in 1707 AD, RY 1.)

Maimanat (meaning Prosperity)

I found a few coins, mainly of Azimabad, with a different type of bar (maimanat) than the standard or what is seen the coin above. What is the significance or is it the die engravers fantasy?

The coins you mention have the mint name "Azimabad" at the top-most part of the reverse (which forms the "bar" you describe). Again, a deviation from the more or less standard pattern.

[asm]

Overlord,

This is great! Does that mean that the coin reads something like 'Minted at ?, in the regnal year 1 assosiated with victory"? I will wait till Oesho returns to fill in the gap (mint name). But I assume it is a geniune issue not listed in the catalogue. The coin described at SACG in Shah Alam - 1 Khambayat is 347.10 and appears to be very different from the coin that I have.

The dealer is a well respected "expert" in Mughal coins in Ahmedabad and is supposed to be good at reading Mughal coins. I bought the coin an impulse when he offered it to me saying that this is an unlisted issue.

Amit

[Overlord]

Does that mean that the coin reads something like 'Minted at ?, in the regnal year 1 assosiated with victory"?
Amit

Yes, if we are right about Zafar that would be the translation.

[asm]

I have been able to pick up the standard format rupee of the same mint. I had checked up with the Standard catalogue and had seen the two different listings for the Rupee of the Khambayat mint. Unfortunately nither had the discription or the photograph. I have problems with the photographs of my silver coins and this is the best I could do.

Now that everyone is back, can some one helpsolve the mistry?

Amit

[Rangnath]

Azimabad or Kanbayat, Shah Alam Bahadur or Aurangzeb Alamgir, charged or totally deflated, I am of no use in this discussion.   
Certainly one problem is my lack of resources!  The standard catalog is absoulutely NO HELP AT ALL!!!!
Sorry Amit.
richie

[Overlord]

asm, your second coin is KM 347.10 and clearly shows the mint name (Kanbayat). (I think the breakup would be Kaf+Nun+Be+Alif+Ye+Te.)


A larger scan of the reverse of the second coin may help in reading the mint name.

[Rangnath]

Wow, Overlord.  fantastic!
I looked in the standard catalog and saw "Kanbayat" and not "Khambayat" underneath. Off to bad start, and minus the obvious appearance of DOTS, I read "you idiot, go collect American coins".   
Oh, well.
richie

[asm]

Overlord, thanks for the break up of the letters. Was the mint name (present day Khambhat or earlier Cambay) Khanbayat or Khambayat?

A larger scan of the reverse of the second coin may help in reading the mint name.

I am currently in Brazil and will return only after 15th March. Once back home, I will now open the original packing and upload a proper photograph.

Amit

[Overlord]

Was the mint name (present day Khambhat or earlier Cambay) Khanbayat or Khambayat?
Amit

I would read the name on your coin as "Kanbayat" (the "Ka" coming from the first letter "Kaf"). The second letter looks like a medial "Nun" (N) to me, and not a "Mim" (M). As for the "H" (as in Khambayat), they dropped it somewhere between the 6th and the 13th year of Aurangzeb's rule.

By the way, our first coin is not an unpublished type. Here is what I found in The Catalogue of Coins in the Panjab Museum, Lahore by R.B. Whitehead (1914), when I checked it for information on the mint (read the last line).

[Overlord]

...and here is the coin (from the same catalogue):




It turns out that our take on the inscription was correct  .