civic copper of Hamadan / "Raij" in a paisley on reverse

[saro]

Copper : 5,62g / 19 x 22 mm
"Raij" (current) in a nice paisley  design (drop of water shape) is clear on reverse; the obverse is unfortunately badly struck : "zarb..." however I think that the mint could be identified...

[saro]

No suggestions ?
I think that "Multan" seems to be the only mintname which can fit.

My guess is that's a Durrani (half ?) falus struck for use in Multan area, maybe under Sikh rule ?
The ruler's name is replaced on the obverse with the word "Raij" (of Persian/Afghan origin) placed inside a paisley pattern which might be agreed by the new rulers.

According to Whitehead for Multan coinage :"The issues of Mahmud's 2nd reign are restricted to copper. Coins in this metal are plentiful and cover a long series of dates. Multan was taken by the Sikhs in june, AD 1818 /AH 1233, and subsequent money in the name of Mahmud Shah must have been authorized by them".

Mahmud's falus weighs 11,5 to 12g, this coin could be of half value ?
Till now, no civic copper of Multan has been reported, but maybe I'm wrong ...

[saro]

After a lot of tentatives and even if the part of the word above « zarb » looks like « Multan », I think that it could be rather read as « baldat/baldah  / city », a word which belongs to a limited number of cities epithets (Herat, Hamadan, Balkh (rather « al-bilad »for it)
 The small legible fraction of this  coin would well fit with a copper of Hamadan struck under Qajars  and could be a part of : «بلده طبیه »(the good city)
the last letter "ه" is here placed in center of "baldat" and is still well visible.
This coin was overstruck and unfortunately none of the remaining part of the legend is legible, however it could be now attributed with some confidence to Hamadan.






ه

[Figleaf]

Congratulations on solving the puzzle. If you, as one of our superheroes, cannot figure it out, it would be sheer coincidence if anyone else could have. Still, this thread gathered some 350 views to date. I am a bit disappointed that no one even placed a comment that may have inspired you or attracted other comments. Sometimes, all it takes to take the correct road is a vague indication.

Peter

[saro]

Sometimes, all it takes to take the correct road is a vague indication.

Thank you Peter it's quite right and we shouldn't be afraid of making a mistake, it's often the way to progress in the right way, this is particularly the case when a coin appears to be not yet reported.