NEWSLETTER no. 114

NEWSLETTER no. 114

September - October 1988

ORIENTAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

Secretary General Europe: Dr. H. J. van der Wiel, Mr.M. R. Broome,

UK & Eire: Mr. K. W. Wiggins, Newsletter Editor Mr. S. Goron, America: Mr. W. B. Warden, Jr., Annual Subscription

£6.00; H. Fl. 25; FF 75; $10. South Asia: Mr. P. P. Kulkarni, Regional Secretaries General: Mr. G. P. Hennequin,

This month sees the start of a series devoted to contributors to the Newsletter. This spot is open to all members who have contributed to the Newsletter in the past, and all are invited to let me have a photograph and a few paragraphs of relevant and interesting information. We start with Dr Michael Mitchiner, one of the Society’s most well-known members.

Michael was bom in Croydon in 1938 and began taking an interest in coins after being given some by an uncle when he was nine years old. After leaving school he studied medicine at Guy’s Hospital, on London, obtaining a B Sc. degree in 1961 and graduating MB. BS., LRCP. MRCS. in 1964. During that time he spent three months at Hong Kong University and returned overland from Calcutta, driving through many places whose coinage he had been studying. This experience was to confirm his interest in oriental coinage. Michael later spent several years on the staff of Guy’s Hospital, gaining a PhD for research on the structure of viruses. He has now been in General Practice since 1971. Michael and Rosaleen, who was once a nurse at Guy’s, were married in 1964. They have

two sons and two daughters. Michael has written numerous articles and several books on coinage, since his first numismatic paper was published in 1969. These include a set of volumes on Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian coinage published during 1975-76, and three large volumes on Oriental Coins published during 1977-79. From 1976 until 1985 he was editor of the ONS Newsletter. During recent years Michael has been studying medieval tokens, pilgrim badges and reckoning counters (jetons), with particular reference to material recovered from the River Thames. — ONS News

The next London meeting will be on Saturday 5 November commencing at 14.15 at 9 Montague Street, London WC1. There will be a mini-auction and a lecture by Tony Holmes on Java. Tea will be available. Members may also like to note that there will be a coin fair at the Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch, London, on the same day, between 09.30 and 17.00. New and Recent Publications

During recent years Michael Mitchiner has been very busy pursuing his non-Oriental interests as can be seen from the following list of publications, which may be of interest to members:

• Mitchiner and A. Skinner, English tokens, c.1200 to 1425, British Numismatic Journal 1983. - Mitchiner and A. Skinner, English tokens, c.1425 to 1672, British Numismatic Journal 1984. - Mitchiner and A. Skinner, The chemical composition of English seventeenth century base metal coins and tokens, British Numismatic Journal 1985. - Mitchiner and A. Skinner, Contemporary forgeries of English silver coins and their chemical compositions: Henry III to William III, Numismatic Chronicle 1985. - Mitchiner, C. Mortimer and A. M. Pollard, Nuremberg and its jetons, c.1475 to 1888: chemical compositions of the alloys, Numismatic Chronicle 1987. At the printers: - Mitchiner, Jetons, Medalets and Tokens. Volume I: The Medieval Period and Nuremberg, 704pp. publ. B. A. Seaby Lid. *

1. Volume II of Numismatic Studies in North East India, compiled by Dr. R. D. Choudhury, has recently been published by the Directorate of Museums, Assam (Guwahati), price Rs.100. This volume brings together a further 24 articles (mostly in English) that have been published elsewhere over the years on North East Indian numismatics.

2. The book on the coinage of the Marathas by Ken Wiggins and K. K. Maheshwari is expected to be published at the end of the year. Any members interested in buying a copy are invited to contact the authors.

3. Sales lists of Oriental coins have recently been issued by Bill Warden, Steve Album and Galerie Antiker Kunst (Oberstrasse 110, 2000 Hamburg 13, West Germany). Other News

Dr. Rose Chan Houston, Associate Curator of Far Eastern Coins at the American Numismatic Society, is leaving the Society after more than seventeen years of service. Dr. Houston, known as Pik-Siu to her many friends, will be very much missed. It is not foreseen that there will be a replacement in the position in the near future. Review

Charles J. Opitz. 1986. Odd and Curious Money: Descriptions and Values. Ocala, FL: First Impressions Printing. 90pp; black and white illustrations in text; 2 pages of colour photographs.

It is not often that a book on traditional currencies is published. Even rarer is a book giving the values of these currencies. Charles J. Opitz’s book is therefore a welcome addition to the growing literature on this subject. The book lists nearly 400 traditional currencies in alphabetical order, most of which are illustrated in the text, by means of photographs if they are from the author’s collection, and by line drawings otherwise.

The items included are based on those in the author’s collection and thus reflect the strengths and weaknesses of such a listing. Mr Opitz takes a very broad view of what should be included as traditional currency: “I am more interested in defining odd and curious money in terms of collectors of the subject and consequently what items should be included in their collections rather than some abstract monetary theory and how it relates to economics. I take a more inclusive view on the subject and therefore include many items as odd and curious money that others would not. Historic inclusion is also considered in my determination. Many items do not fit all the criteria as money, but fit enough to definitely conclude they

belong in a collection of odd and curious money.” (p.2)

This broad definition of traditional money allows Mr Opitz to include items that are primarily stores of value, the possession of which gives prestige to the possessor, for example the bagi traded in the Kula Ring in Milne Bay Province in Papua

New Guinea (p.8). He also includes items associated with trade and money but which are not actually traded or used as money, such as the bamboo tally sticks (called omak) used in the highlands of Papua New Guinea as a record of wealth both received and given away (p.8).

The broad definition of traditional currencies covers only tangible items. Throughout Papua New Guinea, for example, intangibles such as magic spells, sorcery, songs and dances are also traded and confer prestige on the possessors in the same way that tangible items such as shell valuables confer prestige on their possessors. In fact, they are often traded together. It

could be argued that intangibles, too, should be included in the book.

_ The question of what constitutes traditional currencies is a debate that will continue and is beyond the scope of this review. However, there are two issues I would like to raise. Firstly, the title of the book, ‘‘Odd and Curious Money”. The items listed in the book are not ‘‘odd and curious” to those who use them, and I prefer the term ‘“‘traditional’’ to refer to the currencies that are in a form that is not standard worldwide. Fijians in the 19th century thought gold sovereigns were odd and threw them away when given them. In the Highlands of Papua New Guinea as recently as the 1950s labourers refused to be paid in cash and insisted on payment in shell. Secondly, Mr Opitz throughout the book confuses New Guinea and Papua New Guinea, sometimes with unfortunate results. He generally uses ‘‘New Guinea’’, but at times also uses ‘Papua New Guinea’’, e.g. p.60. The correct term is Papua New Guinea to refer to the modern independent state, which is made up of the former Australian colony of Papua and the former Australian mandate of New Guinea. Thus, to state (p.8) that the bagi shell money is from New Guinea is unfortunate as the bagi is traded in the Kula Ring in Milne Bay Province, which is in Papua.

The geographical range of the items in the book is very wide - covering most of Africa, Borneo and the Far East, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and North and South America, but not Irian Jaya (the Indonesian half of the island of New Guinea). Unfortunately there are no maps to assist the reader locate the lesser known places (for example the Lomami area mentioned on p.39 where jembe is used and the provinces of Papua New Guinea mentioned throughout the book). Mr Opitz promises that the book will be updated periodically and I hope that the second edition will include maps.

A number of errors have crept into the text. Thus, kina moa (p.40) should be moka kina. Kina shell (p.41) is made from Pinctada maxima. Diwarra (p.26) is the name given to the money made from nassa shell discs in the Duke of York Islands and New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. The name of this currency, which is illustrated on p.27, is tambu. It is used by the Tolai people of East New Britain. The Admiralty Islands and Manus are the same place (dog teeth money, p.26).

‘Odd and Curious Money’ is particularly valuable for bringing together in one volume illustrations of many of the traditional currencies of the world. For this reason it can be used by both the beginner and expert alike. The colour photographs in the centre pages (pp.44-45) show Papua New Guineans from the Western Highlands, Chimbu and East Sepik wearing and displaying their wealth and underline the fact that traditional currencies are not merely media of exchange, standards of value and stores of wealth, but play a central role in the lives of the people. Colin Barron

A Fractional Gold Coin of Khalaf Ibn Ahmad of Sistan by W. L. Treadwell

Enlarged x 1% This coin is illustrated by permission of the Visitors of the Ashmolean Museum

This unique and unpublished issue, acquired by the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in 1969 (with nothing known of its provenance) displays several features of unusual interest. The inscriptions are as follows: Date: 382/992-3. Mint name - Sijistan.

Obv.

Rev. Field: Field: إلا‎ al لله لا‎ الله وحد م‎ ii رسو ل‎ J_wl ولج‎

aL القادر‎ tol ابو‎

Margin: اس ناتسنجسب يفاك‎ Margin: لا شح نفسه‎ ome

AV. Weight: 1.14.لع‎ Diameter: 18mm. Star above لا اله | »ا‎

The epigraphy on this coin is crude, particularly on the Quranic marginal legend, which appears to have been engraved by someone unfamiliar with Arabic. This is suggested by the fact that the word man is written with no ligature between the mim and the nun. A comparison with the same legend on the four dinars which Walker published, shows that this barbarous script was common to all four coins of the same type.! In the case of the Ashmolean coin there is some question as to whether the obverse and reverse were engraved by different hands as the style of epigraphy on each of them is different.

The mint name, Sijistan, is only legible from a faintly discernable sin and the oblique downstroke of the top of the jim. That Sijistan was indeed the mint can be inferred from the occurrence of the name on many other coins of this dynasty.” Sijistan was the name given to the province as a whole, but it may be assumed that in this context it refers to the Saffarid capital, Zaranj. The marginal legend bearing this information is remarkable as it does not follow the formula commonly employed on Islamic coins. It is not prefaced by the phrase “‘in the name of God”’, nor is there any mention of the coin type (i.e. a dinar or a dirham). The name on the reverse field, al-Qadir Billah, is that of the ‘Abbasid Caliph from 38 1-422/991- 1031.

The first scholar to decipher the Quranic legend on the reverse was J. Walker, whose conclusions were published in the monograph entitled “‘The Coinage of the Second Saffarid Dynasty in Sistan”.? The verse is translated as follows: ‘And those who are saved from their own covetousness shall be prosperous.” This verse is only found on the coinage of one ruler, Khalaf - Ahmad (352-c.393/963-c.1003) of the Second Saffarid dynasty. The inscription of his /Jagab, or regnal title, Wali al-Dawla, together with his kunya, or patronymic, Abu Ahmad, on the obverse field, confirms the attribution of this coin to him.

Khalaf ibn Ahmad was the fifth ruler of the Second Saffarid Dynasty. He was descended on his mother’s side from ‘Amr b. Layth, one of the two founders of the dynasty; his paternal descent is less clear, but it appears that his father, Ahmad, was also related to the early Saffarids.4 He was renowned as a man Of letters and is said to have patronized one of the most famous of all medieval Arab authors, Badi’ al-Zaman al-Hamadani, the composer of the Maqamat.* He is also known to have commissioned a commentary on the Quran from a scholar at his court.®

The date of Khalaf’s accession to power is known from the local history of the province, the Tarikh-i Sistan, but the numismatic evidence suggests that he had some share of authority during his father’s lifetime.? His forty-year reign was extremely turbulent; in only his second year as ruler, he was ousted from power by a relative, Tahir b. Husayn. He was forced

to call on the help of his overlords, the Samanids of Bukhara, to regain his province by force from Tahir’s son Husayn, who

had carried on his father’s cause after Tahir’s death in 359/970.8 Once back in power, Khalaf incurred the wrath of the Samanids by failing to send them the tribute due from Sistan, and subsequently endured a long siege mounted by the Samanid forces which were led by the same Husayn b. Tahir whose rebellion he had suppressed at the beginning of his reign.? He finally managed to defeat his enemies in 373/983 after which date he held power until 393/1003 when the province was conquered by the Ghaznavids.

It is in the last two decades of his rule, which followed his own rebellion against the Samanids, that we find the remarkable series of gold coins of which this is the latest example to be discovered.!° It is not known why Khalaf chose to mint coins with this unique inscription at this time. Might it possibly have been an oblique reference to the Samanids’ demand for tribute from Sistan - a demand which Khalaf had resisted at such cost to himself? Another feature of this coin which contributes to its value as a historical document is the appearance of the title Wali al-Dawla on the obverse field. Such titles were becoming increasingly common during the late 10th century and were keenly sought after by local rulers and officials. This is the earliest mention of the Jaqab on Khalaf’s coinage, which also appears on three later coins, dated 384 (dirham), 388 (dinar) and 390 (dirham).!! It would clarify our understanding of his relations with the Samanids after his rebellion against them, if we could determine from whom he had received the /aqab and in which year. If it was from the Caliph, then we could assume that Khalaf bore some measure of allegiance to the Buyids without whose recommendation the Caliph would not have granted it to him. If on the other hand it was the Samanids, it would be reasonable to conclude that they had pardoned Khalaf for his rebellion and wished to rehabilitate him as a loyal vassal of theirs. Unfortunately the written sources offer no help on this matter and we are left to hypothesize from the numismatic evidence alone.

The absence of any mention of the Jaqab before the 380’s, together with the fact that all four examples of coins bearing the laqab fall within that decade, suggest that it was granted to Khalaf at some time around the beginning of this decade. I would speculate that it was most probably the Caliph al-Qadir who gave the /aqab to Khalaf for the following reasons. Firstly, because he only became Caliph in 381, one year before the 12045 appears on Khalaf’s coins. The inauguration of a caliphal reign was a traditional time for the bestowal of honours on vassals and officials by a new Caliph, whose primary aim was to secure the loyalty of the servants of the state. Secondly, Khalaf acknowledged al-Qadir on this coin in contrast to the policy adopted by his powerful neighbours, the Samanids and the Ghaznavids, who continued to recognize the deposed Caliph al-Ta’i after 981, since they regarded al-Qadir as the puppet of their rivals, the Buyids. It may well be that Khalaf had decided to accept Buyid patronage after his return to power in 373. Ibn al-Athir writes that as early as 357 the “‘sahib Sistan” had acknowledged ‘Adud al-Dawla in the khutba after the Buyid occupation of nearby Kirman in that year.!3 It is not clear whether the term “‘sahib Sistan’”’ refers to Khalaf or to Tahir b. Husayn, although according to the Tarikh-i Sistan Tahir was in control of the province at that time. Nevertheless the significance of Ibn al-Athir’s report is that the Buyids were able to exert their authority over Sistan at an early date; al-Qadir’s bestowal of the Jaqab on Khalaf would indicate that Buyid authority was still recognized in the 380’s and this could only have been to the detriment of Samanid influence in the province. Notes

• Walker, “‘The Coinage of the Second Saffarid Dynasty in Sistan”, A.N.S. Numismatic Notes and Monographs, 20.712, 1939, 2. ibid, passim.

en ibid. 4. Amedroz, H. F., ‘”“‘Three Years of Buwaihid Rule in Baghdad A.H. 389-393’, JRAS, 1901, 501. a Tarikh-i Sistan, ed. M. Gold, Rome, 1976, 279. 6. Al-Shaykh al-Manini, Al-fath al-wabhi ‘ala ta’rikh Abi Nasr al-‘Utbi, part 1, Cairo, 1869, 375.

he Tarikh-i Sistan, 267; Walker, op. cit., p.31. Coin no. 20 bears the names of Khalaf and his father Ahmad b. Muhammad. 8. Ibn al-Athir, Al-Kamil fi al-ta’rikh, viii, Beirut, 1965-67, 563-64. 9. Ibn al-Athir (p.564) states that the siege lasted for seven years, whereas the Tarikh-i Sistan (p.275) says three years. 10. In addition to the four dinars published by Walker, see Sourdel, Inventaire des Monnaies Musulmanes Anciennes du Musée de Caboul, Damascus, 1953, 20, no.85, for a 377 dinar which the author describes as similar to Walker’s coin no.53. The number of the sura on the reverse legend, given as Quran xlix must be a misprint for Quran lix. 11. Walker published the 384 dirham which was in the Berlin Museum (op. cit. p.44). The later dirham, dated 390, is in the Ashmolean Museum. The 388 dinar was published by D. Sourdel (op. cit. p.20, no.86). Also of interest here is the intriguing inscription of the single word dawla above the obverse field on Walker’s coin no.53, a dinar of 379, and similarly on a dinar of 377 in Sourdel’s catalogue (op.

cit., p.20, no.85). It is unlikely that the word bears any relation to the Jagab under consideration here. It may be that it fulfils the function of similar inscriptions on the coinage of this period such as ‘adl or nasr, and that it should be understood to mean simply “the

dynasty”’ or ‘“‘the new era’’. 12. Cf. H. Busse, Chalif und Grosskoénig: die Buyiden im Iraq, Beirut, 1969, 167. Busse implies that Khalaf received the title from the Caliph al-Muti’ in 354/965 in Baghdad, when he was invested with the governorship of Sistan. If this was so, it is curious that the title first appears on his coinage a quarter of a century later. On the subject of the Samanids’ practice of conferring titles, Gardizi, Zayn al-Akhbar, ed. Nazim, London, 1928, 48, reveals that Nuh b. Mansur bestowed the Jaqab Nasir al-Dawla on Abu al-Hasan Simjur on his accession in 365/976; Samanid coinage also gives evidence of lagabs which he granted to other officials. 13. Ibn al-Athir, viii, 587.

Two Annamese cash in the names of Ming emperors by N. G. Rhodes

The years around AD 1400 were somewhat confused in Annam. At the end of the 14th century there had been several rebellions against the Tran Dynasty rulers. In AD 1400, Ho Qui Ly, the most powerful mandarin in the royal court, proclaimed himself king. Using this event as an excuse, the Chinese invaded Annam about AD 1406 declaring that they wished to restore the Tran king to the throne. Having subdued the country, the Chinese decided to annex it as part of China, but this provoked in AD 1418 a rebellion led by Le Loi. After ten years of war, Le Loi succeeded in finally driving the Chinese forces out of Annam in AD 1428.

Among my Annamese cash there are two coins with Ming dynasty reign titles:

A small coin reading ‘Chien Wen T’ung Pao’, apparently of the Hui Ti Emperor, who adopted this reign title )41(1399-

1402). No genuine cash of this reign are known to me, although Schjéth published two examples as Nos. 1164/5. The first is a coin of normal size, while the latter is similar to my piece.

• A small coin reading ‘Yung Lo T’ung Pao’, presumably of the Ch’eng Tsu Emperor (AD 1403-24). Both these little coins are clearly of Annamese fabric and weight, and the calligraphy of no.2 is identical to that found on the coins of Ho Qui Ly, although no.1 has rather different calligraphy. I have not seen other coins with Ming Dynasty reign titles copied in Annam, so could it be that these two pieces were issued during the Chinese occupation? Even if they were contemporary, they may have been private issues, rather than officially sanctioned by the Chinese administration. In any

case, 20.1 is interesting in being one of the very few cash with the Chien Wen reign title. Ref: F. Thierry, Catalogue des Monnaies Vietnamiennes, Bib. Nat., Paris, 1988. A coin similar to no.2 is listed as no.1124 and described asa 16th or 17th century imitation.

The First Known Coin of Hosein Qoli Khan Qajar by Steve Album

One of the arcane delights of coin collecting is the discovery of a coin whose existence has been mentioned by contemporary chroniclers, but which has hitherto remained unknown. It was precisely such a pleasure that I recently encountered, with the discovery of the first known coin of Hosein Qoli Khan Qajar.

The effective founder of the Qajar dynasty had been Aga Mohammad Khan (1193-1211/1779-1797). Aqa Mohammad had been made a eunuch when still a young child, and could thus bear no children of his own. Upon his assassination on 21 Dhu’!-Hijja 1211 (17 June 1797), the Qajar throne passed to his nephew, Fath ‘Ali Shah (aka Baba Khan), who was to rule Iran until 1250/1834. Even within the royal family, support for Fath ‘Ali was far from unanimous, and he was challenged on several fronts. Most bitter of all were the two rebellions of his full brother, Hosein Qoli Khan, the son of yet another Hosein Quli Khan, brother of Aqa Mohammad Khan.

The first of these rebellions took place very shortly after Fath ‘Ali’s accession, which had informally taken place on 2 Muharram 1212 (27 June 1797), just 10 days after the murder of his uncle, Aga Mohammad Khan. In Rabi’ I of that year, Hosein Qoli was formally appointed governor of Fars and despatched to the provincial capital of Shiraz. According to the Qajar histories, Hosein Qoli Khan behaved with cruelty and caprice, arousing the ire of the notable of Fars province.! Nonetheless, he gathered armed support, and at the beginning of 1213, launched a revolt against his brother, the shah. The two armies met at Farahan at the end of Muharram 1213 (about 10 July 1798), but Hosein Qoli proffered a formal apology and was reinstated into the shah’s good graces before battle could be joined. He was deprived of the governorship of Fars and instead sent out to a less lucrative post as governor of the town of Semnan.

At some point, Hosein Qoli Khan was granted the governorship of the more important city of Kashan, either in addition to or in lieu of the lesser post at Semnan.? It was from this venue that Hosein Qoli embarked upon another rebellious misadventure, which is best described in the words of Hasan-e Fasa’i (tr. H. Busse; bracketed portions are my additions)’:

“In Safar 1216 Hosein Qoli Khan, brother of the shah, governor of the town of Kashan and holder of that fief, again committed self-deceit. A man from Lorestan named Mohammad Qasem Piran Vand who pretended to know alchemy, appeared before Hosein Qoli Khan offering his suspicious services. Hosein Qoli Khan, immature and young, was of the opinion that he could count the arrival of this man a gain for his plan to become ruler. In the middle of Rabi’ I of that year (26 July 1801) he hastened to Esfahan and alleged that Haji Mohammad Hosein Khan had been removed from the governorship of Esfahan. The latter having fled upon news of his alleged removal, Hosein Qoli Khan took possession of Esfahan and its resources. He had coins struck in his name and appointed Mohammad Qasem his vizier. When the shah heard of this occurrence he departed for Esfahan. Hearing of the shah’s departure, Hosein Qoli Khan proceeded to the region of Silakhur and Borujerd. Several days later the shah followed him with haste to the region of Golpaygan. Being disappointed everywhere and by everybody, Hosein Qoli Khan went to Qom (seeking refuge at the shrine of Fatema). A short time later the shah, too, arrived at Qom. Hosein Qoli Khan buckled on his sword and asked for pardon, prostrating himself submissively before the shah. Because of the intercession of the queen mother he was pardoned, and the shah gave him the district of Qom as a fief. (But his rapacious behaviour at Qom led to his dismissal and imprisonment a few months later. Hosein Qoli Khan died in 1218 at Dez-Ashub near Tehran).”’

Hedayat informs us that the submission of Hosein Qoli Khan at Qom occurred on 26 Rabi’ II 1216 (5 September 1801).5 Thus the rebellion at Esfahan lasted from 26 July to 5 September 1801, or about six weeks in all, surely long enough for dies to be prepared and coins to be manufactured, though it is unlikely that substantial quantities could have been produced during the turbulence of the rebellion. It is then little wonder that the coins have remained so long undetected. pee

The recently discovered coin is a silver riyal of Esfahan struck in the year 1216, weighing 10.16 grams, well within the normal range of Fath ‘Ali’s first riyal standard (used AH 1212-1232). There are traces of mount removal and some scraping in the lower parts of obverse and reverse, and this damage may have compromised the original weight of the coin by several hundredths of a gram. The obverse bears, enclosed in a plain circle, the Shi’ite profession of faith (“la ilah illa Allah Muhammad Rasul Allah ‘Ali Wali Allah’’).© The reverse legend is enclosed in a fancy octofoil, and consists of the mint name Esfahan,

the mint epithet ‘Dar al-Saltana’ (‘Abode of the Sultanate’’), the date 1216, and at the top, the simple name “‘Hosein Qoli” without any titles or honorifics whatsoever. The type is thus closely related to one of Karim Khan Zand’s common types (my type D), except that the name of Karim has been replaced by that of Hosein Qoli. The coin is in the collection of the University of Tiibingen, West Germany.

One principal source for this period is the historical section of Hasan-e Fasa’i, Farsnama-ye Naseri, which has been translated into English by Heribert Busse (History of Persia under Qajar Rule, New York & London 1972), pp.72-107. The work is essentially a geographical account of the province of Fars, but contains a valuable synopsis of the history of that region as well. The account follows the mainline historians (see n.2), but occasionally adds significant details pertaining to or bearing upon events in Fars province. Unlike most works of the period, it is written in plain language, devoid of the bombastic pseudo-eloquence which makes the utilization of most histories of the period so vexatiously toilsome.

Vd A somewhat more detailed version of this event, but offering no significant additional information, is to be found in the standard history of the earlier Qajars, the Tarikh-e Roudat al-Safa-ye Naseri of Reda Qoli Khan Hedayat (Tehran 1339/ 1960), v.9, pp.333-339 (no English translation available). ‘Abd al-Rahim Kalantar-e Darrabi, Tarikh-e Kashan (‘history of Kashan”), Tehran 1341/1962, p.405. The date of the appointment to Kashan is not known. Op. cit., p.100-101. Hedayat, op. cit., 9:371-374. Additional details are provided in this less concise account, but the general outline is identical. Hosein Qoli Khan’s coinage is noted, but the printed text is corrupt at this point. 6. “There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God, ‘Ali is the deputy of God.” ns — Headhunting in Medieval Punjab? by Robert Tye

Derivation of billon ‘jitals’ in N.W. India and N. Afghanistan c.1186-1215 AD.

N. AFGHANISTAN LAHORE DELHI

(TUKHARISTAN) سم. Ghaznavid, Khusru Malik, 1160-86 AD, base billon, 2. 4, 5. 8.

Ghurid of Ghur, Muizz-ad-din Mohammed bin Sam (‘Muizz’), 1186-1206 AD in Lahore, base billon.

Ghurid of Bamiyan, Baha-ad-din Sam bin Mohammed (‘Baha’), 1192-1206 AD, base billon of Balkh. As #3, earlier issue of Qunduz.

Chauhan of Delhi, Prithvi Raja III, cl191-92 AD, base silver.. Muizz, 1192-1206 AD in Delhi, base silver.. Ghurid of Bamiyan, (Baha), anonymous base billon.

As #7 but ‘Baha’ appears on chest of bull, base billon.. Ghurid of Bamiyan, Jala-ad-din Ali, 1206-15 AD, base silver.

During the last 5 years good fortune has brought to me a number of important facts about the coinage of the Ghurids of Bamiyan. Since I lack the access to sources and the time required to properly research the context of these coins, I wish to use this note to put these findings and my resulting hypotheses informally into the public domain, in the hope that others will find them useful.

About 5 years ago I bought part of a hoard of base billon coins of the types illustrated as no.7 and no.8 above. At the time I was puzzled as to why the coins, in the name of Mohammed bin Sam, were so much baser than the normal Delhi pieces of Mu’izz-ud-din Mohammed (i.e. issues of the former Chauhan mint, cf coin no.6 above). The hoard coins were baser and cruder (yet more ornate), and on some (coin no.8), there is a short Arabic phrase which at the time we could not de- cipher.

A couple of years later I gained a copy of John Deyell’s unpublished PhD thesis ‘Living without Silver’ in which coins

like no.7 from my group (his no.254) are attributed to the Ghurids, as derivative copies of the Delhiwals of Mu’izz, made in Afghanistan.

Shortly afterwards at the British Museum, the late Nicholas Lowick happened to show me a group of base billon inscriptional coins of the Ghurid of Bamiyan, Baha-ud-din Sam (1192-1206 AD) of the mints of Qunduz, Balkh and possibly Farwan, (coins no.3 and no.4 are drawn from this group). Coins of such a type and metrology were a new departure in 12th century Afghanistan, but it became apparent that they were not an original inspiration, but derived from a Lahore issue of Mu’izz, struck at the former Ghaznavid mint there. One of these British Museum coins (no.4), with its stick-like Arabic script, gives the appearance of being engraved in the Lahore hand, perhaps even by a Lahore trained die engraver. I further discovered that Mr Lowick had purchased the British Museum coins (including nos. 3 and 4) at about the same time as I pur- chased my group (including nos. 7 and 8).

Since that time it has been possible to confirm that the British Museum coins and my own lot did arrive in the UK together, presumably part of the same hoard, but had been treated as a mixed lot and split into the (interesting) Islamic

pieces and the (uninteresting) Nagari pieces. The brief Arabic phrase on our coin no. 8 also now appears to be decipherable, reading ‘‘Baha’’!

This hoard of jitals which arrived in the UK in the early 1980’s can thus give us deeper insight into aspects of medieval North Afghan coinage already sketched out by Deyell. As the armies of Mu’izz progressed across India during the Ghurid conquest of the Ghaznavid and Hindu realms, ‘clansmen’ returned to the territories of his cousin Baha from the front, and brought with them both coins and the habit of using them. Coins brought back after the conquest of Lahore (1186 AD) spawned the first jital issue of Baha the Ghurid sultan of Bamiyan, in N. Afghanistan (coins no.3 and no.4 above). Further clansmen returned, their fortune made from the capture of Delhi in 1192 AD, and carried with them the bull and horseman

Delhiwals. The second issue of Baha derived its types from these Delhiwals, but retained the base billon metal of the Lahore coinage and its spawn (coins no.7 and no.8). Deyell has already attributed what must now be considered the third issue of the Ghurids of Bamiyan, coin no.9 above. This copies both the types and the metal of the Delhi issue of Mu’izz (coin no.6), but inserts the name Jalal onto the rump of the horse. On the basis of the new hoard, Deyell’s re-attribution of this coin, formerly attributed to the Sultans of Delhi by Nelson Wright, to Jalal-ud-din ‘Ali (1206-15 AD), the son of Baha-ud-din, Sultan of Bamiyan, must be correct.

Having fitted together most of the pieces of the numismatic jigsaw, can the coins be used to better understand historical events? The great flowering of billon coinage in Afghanistan, begun by the Ghurids, and reaching a zenith under their successors, the Khwarezm Shahs, requires explanation. The most likely explanation of this coinage that I can think of, is a wish by the newly wealthy Ghurids, having seen the world a bit, to improve their mountainous and backward homeland with the “‘modern” (in twelfth century terms!) conveniences of the trades, professions and statecraft that they had found in India. This would involve the setting up of ‘“‘modern”’ style bureaucracies along the lines of the Ghaznavid and Chauhan kingdoms they had conquered in India; bureaucratic states which would require a currency suitable to pay and tax their citizens.

The coins I have discussed offer some slender evidence for the view that Indian craftsmen themselves were introduced to Afghanistan by the Ghurids in addition to Indian ideas about currency. As I have mentioned, the BM coin, no.4, gives the impression of having been engraved in Qunduz by a Lahore-trained craftsman. This minor point would not merit mention but for a rather remarkable coincidence. In the great historical work of the period, the ‘‘Tabaqat-i-Nasiri’’, the author, Maulana, Minhaj-ud-din, digresses into the history of his own family. From this personal history it appears that Maulana’s father, Sirajud-din, had been Qazi of the Ghurid army in Lahore in 1186. Around 1192 AD Sultan Baha-ud-din Sam of Bamiyan requested that Siraj-ud-din take up residence in Bamiyan, and enter his service. In 1195 Siraj-ud-din left Lahore and “was made Qazi of Bamiyan and Tukharistan, with judicial administration over its forces, was made censor, with full powers as regards ecclesiastical law, and was entrusted with the charge of two colleges and their funds.”’

The request by Sultan Baha-ud-din Sam of Bamiyan, that Siraj-ud-din should transfer his services from Lahore to Bamiyan, occurs at just the time when the first Bamiyan coins, derived from Lahore types, were being issued. I cannot accept that this is mere coincidence. As Qazi, Siraj-ud-din would not likely have any authority over monetary affairs, but perhaps he was not the only administrator recruited to the Bamiyan court at that time. I suggest that Sultan Baha-ud-din sent a “‘shopping list” to Lahore for a Qazi, for minting officials and probably other officials and artisans besides; that the new found wealth of the Ghurids in Afghanistan perhaps funded a brain drain, and Sultan Baha-ud-din went headhunting. Humayun, Vassalage Coinage by Aman Ur Rahman

I present below a vassalage coin -of Humayun, bearing Shah Tahmasp I’s name. The coin is historically important as it proves Humayun’s acceptance of the Shia creed in order to obtain the Shah’s help to regain India. The epigraphy of the coin is outstanding, representing the highest level of calligraphic execution on a coin, not only of that period, but the entire Mughal period, perhaps outdoing the best issued by Jehangir. A similar coin, but in a poorer condition, in the British Museum Collection was published by Lowick in the Numismatic Digest Vol. VI, 1982. Unfortunately due to the condition of the coin, the legend was misread. Weight 4.65g. Max. dia. 28.7mm. Mint - Qandhar. Dateless variety.

I reproduce the entire legend after having examined several specimens, including 2 in my collection, in the form that it appears on the coin itself, as there has been much confusion on its reading. Obverse Reverse

LA ILLAHA ILLILLA أ

إلا‎ LA ILLAHA ILLILLA MOHAMMAD AWWW Iles للا‎ MOHAMMAD RASUL ALLAH ‘ALI WA ALLAH 2 ب‎ RASUL ALLAH WALI ALLAH

“ALI

AS SULTAN AL ‘AZAM AL KHAQAN LI BIN ZAHIR UDDIN MOHAMMAD

BADSHAH GHAZI ZARB QANDHAR MOHAMMAD HUMAYUN GHAZI

AL-HUSSAINI SHAH TAHMASP

None of the coins examined (7 specimens) had any trace of date. (Only a closer examination of the B.M. coin can confirm Lowick’s reading of the last digit of the date that he mentions on the coin.)

The coin was issued in 952 AH under the following historical circumstances:

Humayun had sought shelter in the court of the Persian Shah, after having been driven out by Sher Shah Suri, in 950 AH (1543 AD). He remained as a guest of the Shah for about 2 years, during which period he sought the Shah’s assistance to regain his throne. The Shah’s conditions were two: that Humayun became a Shia and that Qandhar be returned to the Persians after its conquest. Humayun accepted.

Eventually Qandhar was conquered and returned to the Shah’s representative. However due to the unfriendly behaviour of the garrison commander at Qandhar, Humayun attacked and dislodged the Persians. Having thus taken on the Persians, to the anticipated anger of the Shah, Humayun is reported to have appointed his general Behram Khan, who was a Shia, (the future mentor of Akbar) as Governor of Qandhar and ‘‘ambassadors were despatched to the Shah Tahmasp, to assure him that, though Bidagh Khan (the Shah’s envoy and military commander at Qandhar), having acted contrary to his Majesty’s intention, had been dismissed from the command, his faithful subject Behram Khan, who had succeeded him, was ready to obey the orders of his master, the Shah. Tahmasp seems to have found it prudent to acquiesce to this arrangement…” (Erskine - History of India, Vol 11, p.320). Lowick in a footnote to his article quotes a letter written to Humayun by the Shah “‘asserting that the devotion and sincerity of the Emperor to the Safavid family has never been in doubt…”’ (Source: Riaz-ul-Islam, A Calendar of Documents on Indo-Persian Relations). This is a probable reply to Humayun’s letter to the Shah discussed by Erskine. The coin in question is therefore one additional act by Humayun, that of striking coins in the name of the Shah and with a Shia formula, to placate the Shah whose help he still required on his long road to the reconquest of India. It was probably minted soon after the recapture of Qandhar (winter 1545 AD), so as to have been brought to the Shah’s attention as near as possible, if not simultaneously, to the time of the arrival of Humayun’s letter and envoys to his court and almost certainly before the despatch of the Shah’s reply to him cited above.

References Joint Coinage of Humayun and Shah Tahmasp at Qandhar, by N. M. Lowick, Numismatic Digest Vol. VI June & Dec. 1982. Part I & II, published by the Numismatic Society of Bombay. History of India, volume II, by W. Erskine, London 1854.

Three pattern coins from Baroda by K. W. Wiggins & S. L. Goron

The three coins published below are believed to be patterns issued during the early years of the reign of Sayaji Rao III (AD

1875-1938). The dates cover the period Samvat 1938-1943 - AD 1881-1886. This initial part of Sayaji Rao’s reign is noteworthy for the gradual change from the old hand-struck coinage to modern machine struck products and it is very probable that the present patterns were part of this process. 1. Copper. Weight: 6.67 grams. Diameter: 23 mm.

Obverse: A circular wreath with star at top, within two lines enclosing an orb above a tulwar pointing right with 97(١ 281٠ ١ 37m above and az = below: Shri Sa(yaji) G(aekwar) Baroda.

Reverse: An ornate border of triangles with dots and stars in the angles enclosing

Had SAMVAT Samvat EK PAISA One Paisa a عاب مو‎

The coin is certainly machine struck and although it shows some signs of wear is probably a pattern issued contemporaneously with the copper series dated Samvat 1937 (Y.23, 24, 25) and which were minted until Samvat 1949 on hand-made or machine-punched flans. 2. Silver. Weight: 1.45 grams. Diameter: 16 mm.

Obverse

Bust of Sayaji Rao III threequarters right. Inscription Mama ua: = Sri Sayaji Rao M(aharaja) Gaekwar. qo الات عزن‎

Reverse: Within a wreath of two sprays a tulwar pointing right, 9 #1 © above, 9 ؟‎ &% below = Baroda (Samvat) 1942

This coin is exactly the same weight and very similar to the 2 anna pieces struck in Samvat 1949, 1951 and 1952 (Y.33 and

33a), so it is probably a pattern for a like denomination. It does not, however, bear any value whereas the later issues do. The bust of the Maharaja is quite different from the later coins, which have his portrait in profile. The date Samvat 1942 corresponds to A.D. 1885, some seven years earlier than the later series, which comprises 2 annas, 4 annas, half rupee and rupee. 3, Copper. Weight: 17.5grams. Diameter: 29mm.

Obverse

Profile portrait of Sayaji Rao III within a beaded circle. Around, MY. AO A 41 = Sri Sayaji Rao M(aharaja) Gaekwar. o.maeas

Reverse

Within a wreath of leaves and a beaded circle, a tulwar pointing right. Above the tulwar, بان‎ and below, وبي ؟و‎ = One Rupee (Samvat) 1943. zuq

This coin is machine struck and is a copper pattern for a rupee coin. It may belong to the same experimental series as the previous coin, in view of the date. The profile bust is similar, though smaller, than that depicted on the rupees issued from Samvat 1948 onwards. (1891). This coin shows signs of mounting.

If any member can provide additional information on these pieces, the authors would be pleased to hear from them.

Galataprint, Park House, Albert Road, Wolverhampton, WV6 OAG, U.K.