Aurangzeb (AH1068-1118), Dam, Singhana mint, AH1112/RYXX

[Overlord]

Mass=13.9 g

Obverse Jalus Mubarak Sanat 1112 (Year 1112 of Auspicious Reign)



Reverse Zarb Sangamner Sanat...  (Struck at Sangamner in Year...)

[asm]

Overlord,

Another Gem.

Amit

[Oesho]

Dear Overlord, Where did you found a reference to a copper coin of Sangamner.
KM list a rupee AH1116/Ry.48 and Irfan Habib, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire (map 14B), showed the place as a rupee mint of Aurangzeb.

[Overlord]

Dear Oesho, I have no reference.
I was just going by what I thought was the reading of the legend on the coin.

[Oesho]

Dear Overlord, The only publication on Sangamner is a rupee of Aurangzeb (Numismatic Supplement XLIV (1931-1933), p.35) by R.G. Gyani: "Aurangzeb's silver coin of Sangamer."
He describes a rupee in the Cabinet of the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay, with Ry.48.
Another rupee (dated AH1118/Ry.50) of this mint I found in the former collection of Dilip Shah of Jabalpur.

A copper coin of this mint has, to my knowledge, not been reported and if the above coin can be positively  attributed to this mint, it is for the first time that a copper coin of Sangamner mint is published.

Sangamner town is the headquarter of the Taluka of the same name in the Ahmadnagar district, Bombay, situated in 19.34'north and 74.13'east, 49 miles North-West of Ahmadnagar city.
The Mughal occupation of this district lasted from 1636-1759. During this rule, as it appears from the revenue settlements of about 1790 (vide Bombay Gazetteer, vol.VII, p.738), Sangamner was the head of a Sarkar of eleven parganas and hence must have been important enough to possess a local mint.
Aurangzeb might have struck coins at this mint towards the latter part of his rule when he had his headquarters mostly in this part of the country.

[Overlord]

Dear Oesho, many thanks for your comments. Here is the close-up of the portion showing the mint name:


I read this as


The above reading is far from perfect. The diacritical marks do not fit in and the "Gaf" doesn't have its typical shape. It is, however, the closest "fit" I find to any reported mint name. The year 1112 (1700 AD) is also quite plausible (corresponding to RY 44 or 45 of Aurangzeb's reign) for Sangamner.

[Salvete]

I was offered a copper coin, not unlike this one, about dam weight, and it had also been  read as 'Sangamner' by the seller.  The price was OK so I bought it, knowing that if the reading was not correct, I had lost very little.  When (if) it arrives, I shall bear this discussion in mind when checking (or trying to check) the mint name.  I think there is a little less of it on 'mine' than on this one, but the comparison will be educational.

If it is not Sangamner, Oesho, what alternative readings can you suggest?  No pressure!   

Mughal campaign camps are described frequently as resembling tented cities, and the idea of trudging through the Deccan, fighting siege after siege and pitched battle after pitched battle, while dragging a few tons of copper along for the ride strikes me as very amusing - but I have always laughed at things that other people do not find funny, so maybe it's just me that's going nuts.......

Salvete

[Overlord]

Dear Salvete, I anxiously await the arrival of your coin.
In the meantime, we have two more suggestions (Simhgarh and Singhana), thanks to my good friend asm's tireless efforts.

[Salvete]

 There is no doubt that ASM is a hard-worker, both work-wise and in relation to his coins and this forum.  He knows that he has the thanks of a number of members here for his incisive and well-researched posts.
  A Propos the mint name on this coin,I have been to a Maratha Hill-Fort not far from Pune, called 'Sinagarh' (if that is how it is spelled) and maybe that could have been a minting place for a while?  There is still a lot of Indian numismatic history that needs uncovering and untangling. .........
Barry

[asm]

.......I have been to a Maratha Hill-Fort not far from Pune, called 'Sinagarh' (if that is how it is spelled) and maybe that could have been a minting place for a while?  There is still a lot of Indian numismatic history that needs uncovering and untangling. .........
Barry

It is Sinhgadh or the fort of the Lion (Sinh / Simh). May be the fort of Shivaji.

Amit

[Bimat]

I have been to Sinhagad a couple of times,but there are no signs of any mint there.However it is possible that it was present two centuries ago..I must mention here that  government hasn't taken proper care of this particular fort and if you visit it today,you will find a heap of wine bottles,vulgar messages written on walls..  So it's possible that the mint was present which got damaged/destroyed by our own people...

See also some images of the fort..

Aditya

[Salvete]

You are right, Numismatica, that there are not a lot of buildings of any description to see there now, but that may be partly because the main walls and buildings were thrown down by British soldiers (can't remember the date, but probably about 1830, I guess) to prevent its military use in the future, and the only building still virtually intact that I saw (apart from a subteranean tank) was the ammunition magazine, which was later used as a chapel, and some later buildings used as meeting rooms and shrines to Shivaji and some later heroes, and a tomb.  The only mints that I have seen in forts and palaces were surprisingly small, and had been altered for other uses since minting ceased there, so it is now often not possible to find them, even in places known to have had them.  Where, for instance, is the mint of Daulatabad Fort, near Aurangabad?

Barry

[asm]

Some of these forts may have been like army cantonments and had make shift mints and that is why one may not see them today. I have based my theory on the fact that in most cases, these mints had a very short life as we come across coins minted in only one or two years. I do remember having read some information by Mr Shailendra Bhandare on the Maratha forts captured and renamed by Aurangzeb and this was one of them.

Here is the list:

The Mughal armies under Aurangzeb renamed each and every fort with an Islamic name they captured during this period. If at all coins were struck after any particular conquest, it would be more likely that they have the new name as mintname. The Islamic names of the forts Jan mentioned are:
1. Satara - Azamtara
2. Parli - Naurastara
3. Panhalla - Nabishah Durg (or Shah Nabi Durg)
4. Vishalgarh - Sakarlanah (also referred as 'Sakarullanah' - apparently the name of a Quranic verse the emperor was reading when the news of conquest was brought to him)
5. Kondana (Simhagarh) - Bakhshindah-Bakhsh
6. Rajgarh - Nabishah Garh
7. Torna – Fateh-ul-Ghayb

Many other places were renamed with Islamic names during this period, too. A few are:
1. Raigad - Islamgarh
2. Brahmapuri (Aurangzeb's camp site) - Islampuri
3. Galgalli (another camp site) - Qutbabad
4. Aklooj - Asadnagar
5. Pedgaon - Bahadurgarh
6. Khed - Mas'udabad
7. Chakan - Islamabad
8. Pune - Muhiyabad
9. Kothaligad - miftah-ul-fateh
10. Nandgiri - Namgeer
11. Purandar - Azamgarh
12. Rajapur - Islambandar


Amit

[Salvete]

It's a useful list, Amit.  All of Dr Bhandare's (Shailenji's) work appears to be of excellent quality and he has opened our eyes to many interesting mints and coins, especially of the Marathas.  Thanks for reminding us of that work.
Barry

[Overlord]

I think Sangamner can be discounted. The legend on the silver coins earlier described as Sangamner has been read as "Sangamesar" (for Sangameshwar; find info here), which doesn't fit this one. I came across another example. What appeared a "mim" on the first coin appears to be a "he" on this one. What was read as "nun" appears to have two dots below, as in "ye". Also, there appears at least one more character to the left. I am unable to piece together a sensible legend. Can anyone suggest a probable reading?