Eastern copper mints of bengal in the reign of Aurangzeb

[abhinumis]

Hi all,
I would like to touch upon a wider topic today rather than an individual coin. Today, I would like to discuss about the copper mints in mughal subah of Bengal and Bihar during Aurangzeb's reign. I would heartily appreciate if other members too participate in this discussion and share their coins too. I know of the 4 mints producing copper coins in subah of Bengal viz Akbarnagar(Rajmahal), Patna(Azimabad), Balasore(Bandar Balesar) and lastly Dhaka (Jahangirnagar). All copper coins are very scarce to rare. I would also subsequently put my coins for the discussion.
Do share your knowledge about copper coins of eastern India of Aurangzeb and anything that you can add including any other mints known.
Cheers
Abhinumis

[abhinumis]

The copper coins of eastern India has always been rare due to the use of alternate medium of exchange like Cowrie shells as money.
Let us start with Patna mint. The mint had always been an important one since Akbar who too minted coppers from here. Copper coins of Shah Jahan although scarce are also known from Patna. During Aurangzeb's reign, copper coins becomes rarer to find. An unique double dam(Tanka) is known in Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris dating to Ry9. The weight of this coin is a massive 40gms approx. The presence of the heavy tanka indicate that the coppers were produced by the heavy weight standard(dam standard) of 20gms and it's fractions and multiples. Unfortunately no other coins has yet been discovered in lower weight other than this tanka.
Obverse - Falus Alamgir shah
Reverse - zarb Patna sanah 9

[abhinumis]

Thereafter very rare copper coins of Patna mint are known with julus mubarak legend and light weight standard of 14gms. These are known in ry12, 25,26 and 27. All these coin dates are known by single specimens of each thereby underlining their rarity. One ry12 is in my collection.
Obverse- Julus mubarak sanah 12
Reverse-  zarb Patna sanah xxxx

[abhinumis]

Aurangzeb appointed his grandson prince Azimusshan (Son of bahadur I) as governor of Bengal in 1115AH( 1703AD). The new governor shifted his base to Patna and started developing the city. On his request Patna was renamed to Azimabad (on prince Azimusshan) in 1117AH/Ry49. Copper coins with mint name Azimabad are found for Ry50/Ry51. These copper coins are scarce and difficult to find. I post a copper coin with Azimabad mint with Ry51 in my collection.

[abhinumis]

Thanks Peter. Will try to keep myself motivated. We now move to the next important mint of Akbarnagar (Rajmahal).. The earlier name of the place was Agmahal. During Akbar's reign, Man Singh, on his return from the conquest of Orissa in 1592, named it Rajmahal. On 9 November 1595, Man Singh laid the foundations of a new capital of Bengal Subah there and named it Akbarnagar, after Akbar. It was capital of Bengal till 1612, under Jahangir, when the capital was shifted to Dhaka. It again rose to prominence when Prince Shah Shuja made Rajmahal(Akbarnagar) as his capital during Shah Jahan's reign. In the war of succession following Shah Jahan's death, Shah Shuja was defeated by Aurangzeb's army under Mir Jumla in battle of Khajwa. Mir Jumla was made Governor of Bengal and he again shifted thw capital back to Dhaka. However, Akbarnagar maintained it's importance as a major trade centre. Akbarnagar minted copper from RyAhd signifying Mir Jumla's victory over Shah Shuja. The coins are of the heavy weight standard of 20gms. Apart from Ry Ahad, Ry16, Ry17,Ry21, Ry25 and Ry40 are known. I post this Ry21 in my collection. 
Obverse- Falus badshah Alamgir
Reverse- zarb Akbarnagar Ry21.

[abhinumis]

Subsequently in the later years of Aurangzeb's reign, the lighter weight standard of 14gms was used. However, these coins are very rare. I have an unique coin of Akbarnagar in my collection dated 1116AH/Ry49 that I post now.
Obverse- (falus) badshah Alamgir 1116
Reverse- zarb Akbarnagar sanah 49 julus maimanat manus

[abhinumis]

The next mint is on the coast of Orissa and known today as Balasore. Balasore is the anglisized name of Baleshwar. Baleshwar was one of the very important centre of maritime trade during Aurangzeb's reign. As it was a port town, the mint name reads 'Bandar(port) Balesar(persianized name of Baleshwar). The coin is also of heavy weight standard of 20gms. This coin was discovered by myself and I have since published it in Numismatic Digest.
For more details of this mint, my article can be read by following this link: bandar balesar- a new copper mint for Aurangzeb | Abhishek Chatterjee -

[abhinumis]

Lastly, we come across to the present capital of Bangladesh, that is Dhaka. Dhaka had been an important centre of trade during Akbar's reign and rare silver rupee with mint name Dhaka are known. No copper coin of Akbar from Dhaka is known. In 1612, during Jahangir's reign, the capital of Bengal was shifted from Akbarnagar to Dhaka and Dhaka was personally visited by Jahangir himself renaming it as Jahangirnagar. Jahangirnagar continued to grow and glourish under Jahangir and early reign Shah Jahan. However, Shah Shuja shifted the capital to Akbarnagar briefly and after his defeat , the capital was re-shifted back to Jahangirnagar by Mir Jumla. Jahangirnagar continued to be the imperial capital and most significant centre until it's importance was overshadowed by emergence of Murshidabad under the Bengal Nawabs later in Muhammad shah's reign. Copper coins are not known from Jahangirnagar under any Mughal emperor except for very rare copper coin under Aurangzeb. To the best of my knowledge, not more than 5-6 coins are known. The coins here too follow the heavy weight standard of 20gms. I have one in my collection which is dated 1084AH. This is the only dated copper coin known to me.

[abhinumis]

I have finished posting about the eastern mints of mughal empire (subah Bangal and Bihar) during Aurangzeb's reign. Hope you will all find it useful. Do let me know if I have missed anything and feedbacks are most sought after
Cheers
Abhinumis
P.S- All coins and pics(except the tanka of Patna) are from my personal collection and is posted here for educative purposes to illustrate. Use of the images for any personal, trade or research purpose is prohibited hereby without my written consent.

[Figleaf]

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Peter