Bijapur: Silver Larin(s) of Ali Adil Shah II

[mitresh]

Deccan Sultanate, Bijapur, Ali Adil Shah II, 1657-1672 AD, Silver Larin


The Obv reads as 'sultan ali adil shah' while the Rev reads as 'zarb lari dabuli'.

Unusual 'fish hook' or 'hair pin' type coin inspired by the Lars province in Persia from where it originated. Apparently used in coastal trade as it was easier for the local populace to stash the hook-coin within the lungi (sarong like cloth wrapped around the waist) and to chip off pieces from the silver bar for use as fractional denomination.

[Figleaf]

I was hoping you'd come up with one of these. I have a soft spot for them. Have you ever seen one were parts were chopped off or have you seen chopped parts?

Peter

[Afrasi]

Great piece and a perfect picture. I will try again to scan my pieces tomorrow, but probably I need to use the camera. I have a digital camara, but I am too silly to use it properly with my coins ... 

[mitresh]

No Peter, I haven't come across a Larin with bits and pieces missing. They usually appear 'wholesome' and intact although the legend on most Larin's appear blurred or faded.

[Figleaf]

Me neither, so I take the "chop off" story with a grain of salt, or, more usefully at my advanced age, a bag of onions. I think the fishhook larins are somewhere between coins and silver bars.

Another pet theory is that the larins were originally silver thread, which is raw material to jewellers and therefore as good or better in the role of money as cattle, cowry, salt, almonds and toy cannons. The thread was wound around the hand in a bunch and sold by weight, like a silver bar. As time went on, more and more bunches were stamped, pressing the threads together into a solid piece of silver, making them unusable for jewellers, but obviating the need to weigh them. From there on, it's only a small step to a thick, stamped thread.

Now, if only I could find a halfway house stamped bunch, I could debunk the sarong story also. I think they occurred in the coastal trade for the same reason other silver bars occurred in the coastal trade: they were internationally accepted for their weight and for not having any ruler's propaganda on them.

Peter

[Afrasi]

Hello Mitresh!

I tried to scan ...     

I hope you can see anything and - would be great! - read the coin or the remaining letters.

Best regards, Afrasi

[mitresh]

Afrasi
First of all, congrats, you have a great coin. Its a wonderful piece of history in the hand, isn't it?
Unfortunately, I do not know how to read Arabic/Persian script but from what I know from information available in public domain for the Bijapur Larin coins, these usually have the same description on Obv and Rev as I shared earlier.
Hope it helps.
Rgds.

Mitresh

[Manzikert]

Just come across this thread.

I have one of these Bijapur types (very old scan below: I will try to do a better one later in the week), but I also have one of the 'prototype' from Huwayzia in Lar province, Iran, issued by the Safavid Ismail I, 1501-1524.

I also have one of the Ceylon 'fishook' ones, but i don't have a scan or photograph of that I'm afraid.

Alan

[mitresh]

Hey! pretty cool, great coins. I never saw the original Iran specimen so thanks for sharing. Will wait for the Ceylon scan.

[Quant.Geek]

Joining the party with another recent acquisition...

[parvejadate]

I think one of the reasons why larin is used is influence of Iran n Irani  Nobel's in Adil Shahi.
And Trade roots are not safe.
So Its easy to hide larin in cloths hairs  than coins.

[Figleaf]

The Persian influence is certain and easy to explain. I am not convinced by the "hide in clothes" argument. Pirates would easily find them by searching clothes for something hard. At best, you could make an argument that they are easier to hide between a boat's boards.

Peter

[EWC]

That's a very nice Persian Larin Alan   

Peter is right I think to reject the suggestions so far put up

The early Persian larins, and Bijapur larins, are of course different

The early Persian larins seem to be struck to the sharukhi weight standard initiated in 1425  - looks also to be 2/5 of the Hindu Suvarna

Bijapur larins however are about 150 years later, and are lighter, seem to be 2/5 of a Moghul rupee

For fuller details of that matter see https://www.academia.edu/6882687  (Page 155-6)

Here is an introductory extract...............

The shape of the larin indicates that it was specifically
designed to be made at a minimum cost. A drawn wire could
be cut to an exact weight with relative speed and ease. Both
the 'flan fabrication' and the striking were of the most
rudimentary kind imaginable. Everything about the larin
suggests it was an attempt to get silver into circulation, in
units of certified weight and purity, at the lowest possible cost.
Let us consider the people who used these larins.

They were issued and used along the seaboards, somewhat
regardless of national boundaries. We find in texts that foreign
merchants were on occasions banned from using anything but
larins in their trade in India. Likewise, away from the coasts,
we find other people avoiding them, using regular sorts of
coins. Given the fact that many sea traders in the period would
be operating beyond the sway of their own government control,
and that such international traders might feel little allegiance
to any foreign government, it seems likely that the larin arose
as an appropriate form of currency for their exclusive use, a
currency embodying a minimal element of seigniorage,
circulating at something very close to an internationally
recognised bullion value.

[Figleaf]

Very much agreed with the above, EWC. An international currency, better than silver bars, not attached to any ruler and his bombastic titles and claims, easy to make, accepted in all ports.

Just imagine a weathered Persian sailor arriving in the Maldives and having to accept insect-size coppers that proclaim the insignificant and ridiculous ruler of this malodorous, disease-ridden place "lord of the seas". It's asking for trouble.

Peter

[parvejadate]

I think one of the reasons why larin is used is influence of Iran n Irani  Nobel's in Adil Shahi.
And Trade roots are not safe.
So Its easy to hide larin in cloths hairs  than coins.