ORIENTAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

ORIENTAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

Secretary General Europe: Dr. H. J. van der Wiel, Mr. M. R. Broome, UK & Eire: Mr. K. W. Wiggins,

Newsletter Editor America: Mr. W. B. Warden, Jr., Mr. S. Goron,

South Asia: Mr. P. P. Kulkarni, NEWSLETTER No. 123 00; \(11. Fl 25; FF 75; $\) 12.

March - April 1990 Regional Secretaries General: Mr. G. P. Hennequin,

This month we feature American member Tom Zell. A retired U. S. Navy Chief Journalist, Tom Zell grew up in the small Missouri town of St. Joseph where there were no Asians. From childhood he had been fascinated by these people he had never seen, and as a teen-aged trooper in

1947 he found himself on guard duty in occupied Japan. He returned to Japan in 1957-58, again in 1960-62, and finally in 1970-74. Meanwhile he served 18 months as a war correspondent in Vietnam, two years in the Philippines, and took trips to Hong Kong and Bangkok. Married 25 years to a Japanese, he daily saw Chinese pictorial writing but never took a serious interest in it until he retired.

His interest in square-holed ‘‘cash’’ occurred when he saw bogus coins made for prestidigitators, but he preferred the real thing and soon found himself captivated by them. Wanting to know coin legend meanings and events they evoked, and being dissatisfied by the meagre and oft erroneous translations offered by numismatic references in English, he enrolled in college courses in Chinese language and history - especially a course in the etymology of Chinese characters.

His special interest is in the Song Dynasty, the most scholarly era of human history, in which he finds coin legends revealing of personalities and events of their day. He is attracted to East Asian coinage as a source of education moreso than financial investment. However, for a public relations project, he buys “‘cash” in bulk.

He now lives in Arizona’s high mountains where he looks out upon a green valley populated by antelope and coyotes. Nearby is a canyon adorned by hundreds of American Indian petroglyphs, an ancient epigraphic library challenging Zell’s love of the esoteric.

A second article by Tom appears elsewhere in this issue. ONS News

The first Oriental Numismatic Society Congress will take place from 27 October to 2 November 1990 at the invitation of the Indian Coin Society (Nagpur). Delegates are expected to attend from all over South Asia while members from further afield are also cordially invited to attend. Anyone interested in attending and presenting a paper should contact our South Asia

Regional Secretary Prashant Kulkarni for further details. This event follows the very successful Mintex 90 coin exhibition and seminar organised by the Indian Coin Society, Nagpur 28-30 January (more about this in the next Newsletter). Members’ News

1…, 3 longstanding member of the ONS, was honoured last October by the American Numismatic Society with a citation that read: ‘‘To… the American Numismatic Society conveys its profound gratitude for three decades of loyal service as volunteer caretaker of the Society’s Asian collections, as a distinguished contributor to the corpus of numismatic scholarship, as a Benefactor of the Society and a thoughtful and generous donor to its cabinet, as Chairman of the Committee on Oriental Coins from 1961 to 1975 and a member of the Committee on Islamic & South Asian Coins and the Committee on East Asian Coins since 1976, as a trusted advisor to the Society’s staff and members, and as a dear Friend.”’

1. Professor Richard N. Frye writes that he will be retiring from his post of Aga Khan Professor of Iranian Studies at Harvard University in June this year, and then hopes to have time to finish his numismatic work on the Hephthalites and Sogdians. — Other News

• The 1990 J. Sanford Saltus Award of the American Numismatic Society was presented to the Japanese medallist Keiichi Uryu on March 24, at the Society’s museum in upper Manhattan.

The Saltus award is given for lifetime achievement in medallic art. Though originally limited to American artists, in the past decade the award has been given to sculptors from Italy, Finland and Czechoslovakia. Mr. Uryu is the first artist from outside Europe or America to win the prestigious award. The citation which accompanied the presentation of the silver medal lauded Mr. Uryu for his humanitarian medals as well as his adaptation of Japanese art and industry to the medallic medium.

A talk on ‘“‘The Japanese response to western art in the late 19th century” followed the presentation. The speaker was Julia Meech, a noted scholar on Japanese art and Guggenheim Foundation Fellow. An exhibition entitled “The Japanese

Medal’’ opened in conjunction with the meeting, and will run through to the end of April. Selected pieces from the collection of the American Numismatic Society illustrate the development of medallic art in Japan since its inception in the last century. For the first time in fifty years the unique Adams-Schiff presentation set of Japanese Imperial Orders is on public display, on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The set, which includes the Collar or the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, was made specially for the Metropolitan in 1906 to illustrate the decorations of the Meiji restoration.

Contemporary Japanese medals are featured in an exhibition of works by Mr. Uryu and other artists, which will be on loan from various mints and medallists in Japan. New and Recent Publications

The first issue of ‘Yarmouk Numismatics’, or ‘al-Yarmuk 11:1 ]-Maskukat’, has just appeared with the date 1409 H./ C.E. 1989. This handsome new periodical, which will presumably be devoted mostly to Islamic numismatics, is very much to be welcomed.

Volume I, number 1, includes 6 articles in Arabic and 2 in English: Dr. Rafat al-Nabarawi, ‘‘Fulus ‘Amman wa-Jarash fi sadr al-Islam” (The copper coinage of Amman and Jarash in the early Islamic era).

Dr. Safwan al-Tal, ‘"”Tatawwur uslub al-maskukat wa-ahammiyatiha fi al-dirasat al-insaniyya’” (The evolution of numismatic style and its importance in humanistic studies).

Samir Shamma, “‘Maydaliyya wilayat ‘ahd Muhammad al-Amin b. Harun al-Rashid’ (A medallion of the heir to the caliphate Muhammad al-Amin son of Harun al-Rashid).

Dr. Khalaf al-Tarawna, “‘Arba’ maskukat muzawwara min al-‘asr al’Abbasi’”’ (Four counterfeit coins of the Abbasid period).

Dr. Nayif al-Qusus, “‘Ikhta’ fi al-maskukat qadiman wa-hadithan” (Errors on coinage, ancient and modern). Muhammad 53:10 al-Hajj ‘Ali, ‘“‘al-Umlat al-ma’daniyya fi’l-dawla al-Sa’udiyya”’ (Metal coins of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).

Kenneth M. Mackenzie, ‘“‘A Silver Coin from the Ottoman Mint in Basrah.” Enrico Leuthold Jr., ‘‘The Silver Coinage of the Mamluk Sultan Khushqadam.”’ A section of “News and Communications” includes memorial notices on Nasir al-Naqshabandi, George Miles, and Nicholas Lowick; a report on the 1986 International Numismatic Congress; 6 brief abstracts in Arabic of recent books and 5 book abstracts in English.

Proposed articles and notes for future issues are welcomed and should be sent to the Chairman of the Editorial Board, Prof. Dr. Yousef Ghawanmeh, Department of History, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan. The Journal is subtitled “‘A Refereed Research Journal”, implying a certain high level of scholarship which is in fact maintained in the interesting first issue.

Subscriptions for individuals are US $ 7.00 annually or US $ 9.00 for checks payable outside Jordan (or JD 2 in Jordan). Institutional subscriptions are $10.00 ($12.00 for non-Jordanian checks) or JD 3. For subscriptions, write to Yarmouk Numismatics Journal, Department of History, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan. Michael L. Bates

The Numismatic Digest 701.12, 1988 & Vol.13, 1989 has recently appeared. Published together by the Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies, Nasik, the volume contains the following articles:

Two new coins from Tripuri by R. R. Bhargava. Coins of Gomitra of Varana by P. L. Gupta. Coin of an unknown Kshaharata Kshatrapa by Dilip Rajgor.

Svastika type Satavahana coins by D. Raja Reddy & P. Suryanarayan Reddy. Coins of late Kushana ruler Vasu & the emerging Shakas by C. A. Burns. Motifs on Gupta coins & Sassanian Wares - II by V. S. Pathak. Inscribed Vishnukundin type coins by N. Kothari & M. Morrison. Two coins of Sri Rama by P. V. Parabrahma Sastri. Forged Padmatankas from Daulatabad by C. S. Gupta. Rare coins of Jaunpur Sultans by S. E. Hussein. Bengal Sultan Jalal-ud-din Mahmud - partial reassessment by 5. L. Goron. Identity of Jalal-ud-din Mahmud, a reconsideration by P. L. Gupta. Two gigantic Mughal gold coins by Michael Bates & Richard Falkiner. Legends on the gigantic Mughal coins by Z. A. Desai. Metrology of Jahangir’s gigantic gold coin by P. L. Gupta. A Sarangpur rupee of Aurangzeb by K. K. Maheshwari. Saugor mint & the EIC coins by P. P. Kulkarni. Suba Awadh coin of Bahadur Shah, a further note by Sanjay Garg. In the Mir Zakah group the only Azes I city tetradrachms were of the % م‎ group and table 2 shows the known types from my collection (a few have dots but in unusual places). The hoard also contained coins of Azilises shown in figures 2, 3 and 4 which are distinguished as follows: all have » written with very short stem, fig. 2 is of a very broad designed goddess with a pellet in the drapery hanging from her left arm (and sometimes in the crook of this arm too), fig. 3 in common with all the following varieties is of very crude style and lettering and has a Nandipada symbol w in the right field (sometimes

appears as a dot between ra and ja of Maharajasa), fig. 4 has the letter p in the left field above the brazier. Both these last two types have additional dots or letters on the obverse as well as the usual kharosthi control mark. It is noteworthy that these issues are restricted to just 3 control letters as on the coins of this type of Azes I and the last issues of the Taxila mint with this monogram. This is suggestive of a late issue date for the series.

There were other coins in this Mir Zakah/ Arachosian hoard that typically are only found in the south and table 4 shows the coins in my collection. In the MZ hoard were wreath and brazier coins of several monograms. Fig. 5 and 6 show the two varieties which are related to each other by the same monogram. One can see too that these coins are related by kharosthi control letters.

As confirmation that this series of coins is of Arachosian origin we can look at the corresponding copper types. The joint Spalirises & Spalagadames copper coins of mounted king/ seated Hercules type bear the monograms for Qandahar ) ©. 2 ) and Ghazni? ) 2] ). These are succeeded by the same types of Azes I with the control marks ( ) where the letter is the same form as on the silver in figures 3 and 4. Azilises also continues the same type with the additional letter 5 onthe obverse. I also have a unique copper of this type with the monogram and control marks {ml تك‎ fixing this type in Arachosia. The Taxilan varieties of the city coinage have the mounted king/ bull coppers as their corresponding type. In the Bunir hoard there was a city coin with control marks = P which also has mounted king/ bull coppers to go with it and this would indicate a Gandharan provenance for these coins.

There are two coins only that do not fit these patterns; fig. 7 shows a tetradrachm of very early and neat style with 8 monogram but الى‎ instead of to the right and control letter (P) on the reverse - perhaps an Arachosian coin too since the letter ط‎ appears only in the city series in this province. Figure 8 shows a similar coin with P to the right in place of P and 2 on the obverse. Also of good style, it may represent a series at Taxila before series (a) in my table.

In summary, the above classification shows that the monogram and control mark was not only in use in Gandhara, at Taxila, but also at one or more mints in Arachosia suggesting that the monogram is not strictly a mint monogram, even if one supposed that this coinage for Arachosia was nominally under the control of Taxila, which I doubt. One can also identify from the area of circulation (from the hoard evidence) and the style and control marks evident on the coins, other coins that were minted at one or more mints in the Arachosian region. As to exactly where they were minted is difficult to say but I would guess somewhere in the Ghazni region or possibly Kohat.

I would welcome details of any other coins that collectors might have that fall into these tables.

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Ranjit Singh’s Effigy on Sikh Coins by Surinder Singh

When studying Sikh coins, very little historical evidence is available about Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s interest in the format and

other aspects of Sikh coins. Rai Kanhiya Lal has stated that minting of Sikh coins was ordered immediately on the occupation of Lahore by Ranjit Singh, with a Persian couplet in praise of the Gurus on the obverse and Ranjit Singh’s name on the reverse. By the next day hundreds of coins were distributed amongst the poor.! This account has proved to be incorrect from other historical accounts as well as from the study of Sikh coins. It has now come to my notice that Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the later years of his reign did approve a coin with the Persian couplet as usual on the obverse and his own effigy seeking blessings from Guru Nanak on the reverse. An account thereof has also been recorded by Sohan Lal Suri in Umdat-utTawarikh which is considered to be the most authentic history of the Lahore Darbar.

• J. Rodgers was posted at Amritsar as Principal of Normal College for over a decade after the annexation of Panjab by the British. A great numismatist, he carried out a detailed study of Sikh coins and his article ‘On the Coins of the Sikhs’ was published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1881.2 ©. J. Rodgers’ work, till today, has been treated as the primary basis from which further investigation and research has been carried out. Rodgers displayed a coin at No. 23 plate vi, which shows effigies of two individuals on the reverse with the date Sambat 1885 and mint-town Lahore. The obverse contains the oft-repeated couplet ‘Degh o Tegh o Fateh o Nasrut Baidarang Yaft az Nanak Guru Gobind Singh’ with the date 93 in the middle. He considered these figures to be Guru Nanak and his Muslim disciple Mardana. After that there was no serious study of Sikh coins for a fairly long period until it caught the attention of scholars in the nineteen sixties and onwards. A number of scholars viz. Hari Ram Gupta, Gulshan Lal Chopra, Ranjit Singh Kharag, John S Deyell, Stan Goron, Ken Wiggins, Madanjit Kaur and more recently Parmeshwari Lal Gupta have written on Sikh coins.

Almost all historians and research scholars who have examined the above mentioned coin have shared the view expressed by Rodgers. C. J. Brown mentioned a curious rupee of Lahore, Sambat 1885 which displays the figures of Guru Nanak and his Mohamadan follower Mardana.? Gulshan Lal Chopra in his research thesis ‘The Panjab as a Sovereign State’ carried out a study of Sikh coins at the Lahore Museum and the British Museum. He also mentions a Sikh coin in the British Museum, which has the usual inscription on the obverse but on the reverse, the two figures of Guru Nanak and his Muslim fellow wanderer Mardana.*

Stan Goron and Ken Wiggins wrote a series of articles on gold and silver Sikh coins, and made a detailed presentation on Sikh coins in 1984 at the Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies Anjaneri, Nasik. They discussed two coins showing similar figures, with slight variations, both in the British Museum. The sketch given at the end is made from the sketch received from S. Goron.> The first coin therein is apparently the same as discussed by Rodgers and others. Goron and Wiggins repeated the view that these figures represented Guru Nanak receiving an offering of flowers from Mardana, with a pennant in the background. They suggested the pieces were religious medals or coins intended as presentation rupees for some particular occasion, possibly the marriage of Prince Nau Nihal Singh, when a rupee each was given to every inhabitant of Attari.®

Madanjit Kaur also referred to the same coin, presumably observed from Rodgers’ article on Sikh coins, and considered the two figures to be Guru Nanak and his companion Mardana. The Guru is stated to be in a meditating pose and Mardana is fanning him with a chaur (fly whisk).7? Jai Parkash Singh in his observations on Sikh temple tokens® also mentioned this coin with a similar explanation of the figures being of Guru Nanak and Mardana.

On closer examination of these coins and the accounts given by various scholars, these observations appear to be somewhat out of context with time-honoured Sikh traditions. Guru Nanak has invariably been shown with both of his disciples Bala and Mardana, although some doubts have been entertained over Bala having been all along with Guru Nanak. Further,

Mardana was a musician and has always been shown holding a rabab. His being shown as offering flowers to Guru Nanak appeared to be rather odd. With these doubts in my mind I came across a passage giving an altogether different explanation about these coins.

Sohan Lal Suri in his work Umdat-ut-Tawarikh referred to a conversation between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Baron Charles Hugel on 13th Feb. 1836 AD in which the matter regarding closing of a mint and preparation of a new die-stamp was discussed. Hugel suggested minting a new coin with the legend on the obverse and on the reverse the effigies of the Maharaja and Guru Nanak placed in such a way that the Maharaja is depicted with folded hands before Guru Nanak seeking his blessings. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was quite pleased with the suggestion and ordered the coin under discussion to be minted. The exact translation of the Persian text by V. Suri is as follows:-

“Right in the presence of Doctor Sahib mention was made about the closing up of the mint and the preparation of the new die-stamp. Dr. Sahib said, ‘‘the legend should be on one side and on the other side there should be the effigies of the Maharaja and Baba Nanak in such a way that the Sarkar be presented with folded hands before the Guru Sahib.” The Maharaja approved of this suggestion which was considered to be proper and auspicious.’’?

1. Studia Iranica Volume 16 - 1987 – part 1 contained an article by Raoul Curiel & Rika Gyselen entitled ‘Monnaies des Fouilles de Bishapur’. The Revue belge de Numismatique Volume CXXXV (1989) contained an article by Rika Gyselen entitled ‘Note de Métrologie Sassanide - les Drahms de Khusro II’.

2. • Omar Hamidi (Persic Gallery, P. O. Box 10317, Torrance, CA 90505, USA) has published his list 26 of ancient Central Asian, Islamic & Indian coins.

ii. Lester D. Snell (Box 261, Sonoma, CA 95476, USA) has published his list no. 1-1990, of mainly Chinese coins.

iii. Stephen Album (P 0 Box 7386, Santa Rosa, CA 95407, USA) has published his lists nos. 63 and 64. These lists include a number of coins that are unpublished or believed to be unpublished:- 63: Abbasid: al-Muqtadir AV dinar, Mah al-Basra 315. Seems to be unpublished year. Fatimid: al-Qa’im AV dinar, from dirham dies, al-Mahdiya 335 (posthumous). Unpublished in gold. Ayyubid: al-Nasir Yusuf I, AV dinar, Dimeshq 583, unpublished variety, as Balog 79 but without title Sultan alIslam wa’l-Muslimin. Hasanwayhid: Badr b. Hasanwayh, AV dinar, Saburkhwast 395. Unpublished date. Ilkhanid: Abu Sa’id, AV dinar, Shiraz 726 type F. Unpublished date? Shaybanid: ‘Abd Allah II, AV % misqal (2.3 g) without mint name, 995. Safavid: Shah ‘Abbas I, AV misqal (4.62 g), Qazvin 999. Afsharid: Nadir Shah, AV ashrafi Mashhad 1150, type C. Khiva: Muhammad Amin, AV ¥% tilla, Khwarizm, 1270/1269. Unpublished date. Shaddadid: al-Fadl b. Muhammad, AR dirham, Janza, Muharram 400. Safavid: Tahmasp II, AR 4 abbasi, Shiraz 1142.

Zand: Karim Khan, AR 8 shahi, Yazd 1182. Durrani: Ahmed Shah, AR shahi (1/10 rupee), Mashhad 1170. Bukhara: Alim b. Sayyid Mir Amin, AE % tenga, Bukhara 1336.

64: Umayyad: Sug al-Ahwaz, AR dirham 81. Unpublished date. Artukid of Khartabirt: Abu Bakr I, AE fals, no mint, (58)2; bust left/ legend in square. Unpublished type. Great Mongols: anon, citing Caliph al-Mustansir, AR dirham, no mint or date. Inscribed on obverse in Persian ‘*be-qovwvat-e Aferidegar-e ‘Alem’’ (by the power of the Omniscient creator).

1. ‘Ajaya Sri’, a 600 page felicitation volume in honour of Professor Ajay Mitra Shastri has recently been published in Delhi. No other details as yet available.

The Gower Publishing Company Ltd., under their Variorum imprint, have recently announced the imminent publication of the first collections of the work of Nicholas Lowick in two volumes, edited by Joe Cribb. Details, from the publisher’s sales leaflet, are as follows:

Coinage and History of the Islamic World. 16 studies in English, 1 in French, published between 1964 and 1985. Nicholas Lowick died in 1986 at the age of only 45, yet he was already recognised as the world’s leading expert on Islamic coins. This status was based first of all on his prodigious ability to decipher inscriptions and to identify and classify coins, but also resulted from his concern with the historical contexts in which the coins were issued and used. His publications further reflect the emphasis he placed upon recording and analysing the finds and hoards that came across his desk at the British Museum: each additional source of information was meticulously seized upon. This selection of his work is divided into two volumes, but the full range of his publications can be seen from the bibliography established for the first of these. Coinage and History of the Islamic World concentrates on the use of coins as primary sources for Islamic political history. The articles deal not only with questions of attribution and chronology, but with the circumstances in which the coins were minted and with their value as evidence to supplement or correct the literary record. The areas covered are the Yemen in the medieval and early modern periods, Syria, Iraq and Iran from the Seljuks to the Ayyubids, and Central Asia and Northern India under the Shaybanids and their early Mughal successors.

Contents: Foreword; List of publications by Nicholas Lowick; Introduction; The mint of San’a’: a historical outline; Coins of the Najahids of Yemen: a preliminary investigation; Some unpublished dinars of the Sulayhids and Zuray’ids; The mansuri and the mahdawi dirham: two additions to Sauvaire’s ‘Matériaux’; A gold coin of Rasultegin, Seljuq ruler in Fars; Seljuq coins; A hoard of Seljuq dirhams; Les premiéres monnaies artuqides: une exhumation tardive; The religious, the royal and the popular in the figural coinage of the Jazira; Feudalism in Syria: an Ayyubid silver hoard; Shaybanid silver coins; Some countermarked coins of the Shaybanids and early Moghuls; Coins of Sulaiman Mirza of Badakhshan; More on Sulaiman Mirza and his contemporaries; Joint coinage of Humayun and Shah Tamasp at Qandahar; Humayun’s silver coinage in Bengal and the introduction of the rupee; The horseman type of Bengal and the question of commemorative issues; Index.

Collected Studies Series: CS311. 23 x 15 cm, 278pp, 28 plates, index, cloth. 0 86078 259 X March 1990 £41.50

Islamic Coins and Trade in the Medieval World. 17 studies in English, 1 in French, 1 in Italian, published between 1971 and 1988.

Islamic Coins and Trade in the Medieval World focuses on the use of coins as a structure for reviewing the movement of international trade during the Middle Ages. Particular articles deal with topics not so directly related to commerce issues, for instance the gold coinage of Arab and Norman Sicily, or the dating and classification of Samanid coins, but the especial concern of the volume is with the importance of Islamic coins in, and as evidence for, the trade network that stretched from the Middle East to Central Asia and northwest into Viking Europe, and, above all, through the Gulf into the Indian Ocean.

Contents: Foreword; Introduction; A new type of solidus mancus; The Kufic coins from Cuerdale; The Kufic coin fragments (from a Viking period hoard at Dysart, Co. Westmeath); Un ripostiglio di monete d’oro islamiche e normanne da Agrigento; An early 10th-century hoard from Isfahan; Silver from the Panjhir mines; On the dating of Samanid outsize dirhams; A Samanid/Kakwayhid ‘mule’; The wandering die of Nisabur: a sequel; Recent coin finds in the Arabian peninsula; Trade patterns on the Persian Gulf in the light of recent coin evidence; Further unpublished Islamic coins of the Persian Gulf; The Sinaw hoard of early Islamic silver coins; A hoard of dirhams from Ra’s al-Khaimah; An 1 1th-century coin hoard from Ra’s al-Khaimah and the question of Sohar’s decline; A 14th-century hoard from eastern Arabia; Islamic coins and weights (from Julfar); Une monnaie ‘alide d’al-Basrah datée de 145 H (762-3 aprés J.-C.); Fatimid coins of Multan; Index.

Collected Studies Series: CS318. 23 x 15 cm, c.300pp. 37 plates and illustrations, index, cloth. September 1990 0 86078 2670 About £43.50.

Prices include postage and packing. The books can be ordered from Wildwood Distribution Services, Gower House, Croft Road, Aldershot, Hants. GU11 3HR, UK.

1. John Deyell’s book ‘Living without silver - the monetary history of early mediaeval North India’ has recently been published by the Oxford University Press in India. SBN 0 19 562216 2. XIX plus 369 pages, 36 plates. Price Indian Rupees 325 or £25 + postage and packing from… This book is the most comprehensive work written on the subject to date and is highly recommended.

2. Two books by Satya Shrava published in Delhi several years ago but apparently hitherto unobtainable in the West:

3. The Kushana Numismatics. 258 pages, 30 plates & illustrated throughout. 1985. £30 + postage & packing. 2. Sakas in India; 160 pages, 54 plates. 1981. £30 + postage & packing. This book provides extensive coverage of Indo-Scythian and Western Satrap coinages. Both the above are available from R C Senior Ltd.

4. Spink Numismatic Circular for April 1990 contains an article by Samuel Lachman on a gold coin of the Zaidi Imam alMutawakkil al-Qasim b. al-Husayn.

Another Umayyad Mystery Mint by Michael L. Bates An Umayyad dirham of the year 79 with what

appears to be a new mint name has recently appeared in the Middle East coin trade. The owner has read the mint name as “‘al-Rawani’ which is as good a reading as any, although of course the first _ by © ee 3 oa 7 tin) @ و‎ 1 1 Ward letter after the article has several possible readings ar |: 0 iy bet 3 | 7 (R, Z, D, Dh) and the penultimate letter could be AS a B, T, Th, or N. The second letter appears clearly separated from the following alif and therefore must be a waw but the separation is barely visible, allowing the possibility of F or Q.

As the owner points out, the preposition bi before the mint name seems absent, unless it is concealed in the curve at the bottom of the first alif. Otherwise, the dirham has no remarkable features except that the letter waw is at the end of the second line of the reverse central inscription, a position in which it appears in this year only on dirhams from Dimashq and al-Kufa.

An Indo-Scythic Mint Mark by R. C. Senior

In his book on the Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythic coinage, Dr. Mitchiner has allocated the mint of Taxila to all the city goddess issues of Azilises with the exceptionof the type with control marks 27P which he allocates to South Chach. In this article I propose to look at some city goddess issues that I believe can be attributed to an Arachosian mint (or mints) as opposed to the Gandharan mint of Taxila and in particular those coins bearing the control marks which have both a Gandharan and Arachosian source, calling into question whether the monogram is in fact a mint monogram at all! In 1987 I examined two hoards of Indo-Scythic coins which I shall publish elsewhere at a later date. The remarkable thing about these hoards is that the burial date of both hoards was almost identical (sometime in the very first years of Azes II) and that their composition was virtually identical in examples of the three rulers: 33% of the coins split equally between Azes I and Azes II, and Azilises 66%. The total city types in each hoard was 73% (of both Azes I/Azilises). The difference in the two hoards was their control mark composition in the city types and Zeus/Athena types on the reverse of the Azes I/II non-city coins. The hoards were buried at (a) Bunir in the Swat valley, to the north and equidistant from Taxila and Push-

kalavati (Gandharan coins) and (b) Mir Zakah, about 1000 Km south-west on the route between Kohat and Ghazni (an Arachosian site).

Looking at the city types only, both hoards contained coins with die links to each other and the Bunir hoard had coins of Azes I with control marks &, and طم‎; and Azilises-4, and. Mir Zakah had coins with the same control marks for Azilises, Here I am interested in the control marks and other scarce control marks associated with Arachosia. In the Bunir hoard there were no Azes I coins with this control mark and al] the Azilises coins were of types that fit into table 1. This table is compiled from coins in my own collection and figure 1 illustrates the type. The coins start in very neat style and seem to follow a sequence with the kharosthi control letter first appearing on the reverse of the coin then transferring to the obverse. The Bunir hoard contained a mule of series (a) and (b) with letters on both obverse and reverse. Types (c) and (d) have additional letters above the horseman and (e) and (f) have in addition a dot before the horse as well. I have placed the sequence thus because there is a gradual coarsening of style throughout and the final dot series is a tetradrachm series only.

The dots on Indo-Scythic and Indo-Parthian coins seem to be significant though their purpose is not always clear - in this instance they seem to be part of a sequence though on other coins of Azes I/II they seem to be more of a privy or control mark. The reference to the closing of the mint might have been to the mint in Islam Garh fort (Gujrat). Maharaja Ranjit Singh had set up a mint in Islam Garh fort, in which all the rupees of Sambat 1885 called Nanak Shahi were coined, event though these coins bore the mint names of Lahore and Amritsar.!° This may have been done in order to reduce the load on the Lahore and Amritsar mints, but it is of no relevance to the present discussion.

Sohan Lal Suri mentioned that on the 2nd day of Magh Sankrant, i.e. 13th Jan. 1836 AD Nur-ud-din and Chet Singh were appointed to escort Baron Hugel and Vigne Sahib, who presented themselves before the Maharaja, with Mackeson Sahib. Baron Hugel also mentioned in his travels in Kashmir and Panjab that the Maharaja could not meet him on 12th Jan. due to its being a Sikh holiday. On 13th Jan, 1836, Faquir Aziz-ud-din brought with him three elephants to conduct them to the palace. Mr. Mackeson was also invited.!! The actual year of the coin being Sambat 1893, i.e. 1836 AD coincides with the visit of Baron Hugel. The authenticity of the facts recorded in the Umdat-ut-Tawarikh over Baron Hugel’s visit to Maharaja

Ranjit Singh on 13th Jan. 1836 receive corroboration from the account of Baron Hugel himself. There is, however, no mention of the conversation about the design of the coin in Baron Hugel’s account, this presumably being of insufficient importance for him to record. In view of the great rarity of these coins, only a small number of them could have been minted. This certainly militates against the suggestion that these coins were made at the time of Nau Nihal Singh’s marriage for presentation to the entire population of Attari town.

Lt. William Barr was a member of the Mission of Lt. Col. C. M. Wade to the Khaiber Pass in early 1839, and which passed through the Panjab and was entertained by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. William Barr gave a very detailed account of the mission in a paper published in the United Service Journal, July 1842, which was later published in a separate book. While going through the Lahore forton Feb. 21st, he mentions the hall of justice, the exterior of which was covered with paintings in oil of very extravagant description. He states ‘“‘Another picture represents the Maharaja in the presence of Baba Nanak, the founder of the Sikh sect: the holy father being most splendidly robed in a suit of embroidered gold, and sitting; whilst his disciple, who has done so much to extend the domains of his followers, is dressed in bright green silk, and standing, with his hands joined in a supplicatory manner. Behind the Baba, keeping guard, is an Akali with a drawn sword, and with but very little covering. A third represents a similar scene, with the single exception of Runjeet Singh being in a still more humiliating position - on his knees. A few drawings of flowers, which separate these compartments one from another, are extremely well done, and true to nature.”’!? This account contributes further towards the view, that the above said coins depict Guru Nanak and Maharaja Ranjit Singh thereon.

Flags have always been a sign of royalty and Maharaja Ranjit Singh invariably used to have his flags sent in advance to herald his arrival.13 The flag on the coin represents Ranjit Singh and not Guru Nanak as has been previously suggested. No flag has been shown in any painting or drawing of Guru Nanak, nor has there been any mention in Janam sakhies of any flag used by Guru Nanak. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was very fond of trees and green foliage. He was instrumental in the construction of garden houses around Lahore and Amritsar. He prohibited the felling of any green trees within 24 miles around Lahore.!*#

In accordance with Sikh polity, power rested with the Sikh Commonwealth - the mystic entity in which rested all sovereign power. The all powerful ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh referred to himself as merely a drum (Ranjit nigarah) of Guru Gobind Singh.!5 He was not the agent but the servant of the Gurus, upholding the supremacy of the Khalsa. He did not take upon himself any title of royalty. Coins struck by him were also in the name of the Gurus and the ruler’s name did not appear thereon. These were popularly called Nanak-Shahi coins. The coins showing Ranjit Singh seeking blessings from Guru Nanak, seated at a somewhat lower level and holding a ‘chour’ (fly-whisk) in both hands, depict him only as a devotee of the Guru, and does not defy or in any way infringe upon the norms of Sikh Polity. The existence of only a few coins of the above type suggests that they were an expression of an idea which was not pursued. Taking into account the various facts discussed

above, it becomes certain that the figures on these coins are not Guru Nanak and Mardana but Guru Nanak and Maharaja Ranjit Singh seeking the blessings of the Guru. Dia. 23 mm Wt. 2١٠١ gms Date. S-1885/93. Dia. 26mm Wt. ١٠١ U gms Date. S- 1885 Notes and references

1. Rai Kanhiya Lal, Tarikh-i-Panjab translation by Jit Singh 51121. Panjabi University Patiala. Page 137. - J. Rogers, “On the coins of Sikhs’, Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta 1881. Volume L, page 86, and plate V.

af - J. Brown, Coins of India, Heritage of India Series, Calcutta, page 107. 4. Gulshan Lal Chopra, The Panjab as a Sovereign State, page 155, V. V. R. I. Hoshiapur, 1960. 5: Stan Goron and Ken Wiggins, Gold and Silver coinage of the Sikhs, page 15 of the presentation at the Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies, Anjaneri Nasik 1984. The sketches and the draft presentation received from Mr. S. Goron. 6. Ibid, page 15.

de Madanjit Kaur, A study of the Sikh Numismatics with special reference to coins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, published in Maharaja Ranjit Singh Politics, Society and Economy. Panjabi University Patiala. Page 331. 8. - P. Singh, Observations on Sikh tokens, Numismatic International Bulletin, Dallas U.S.A., pp 363 & 364. 9. Sohan Lal Suri, Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, V. Suri translation, Panjab Ithas Prakashan Chandigarh 1974. Daftar 3, part 2, p.298.

10.2 A.C. Elliot, The Chronicles of Gujrat, p. 31, reprint. Language Dept., Panjab 1970. 11. Baron Charles Hugel, Travels in Kashmir and Panjab, pp 283 to 285. Reprint Language Dept. Panjab, 1970. 12. William Barr, Journal of a March from Delhi to Kabul. Page 57. Reprint, Language Dept. Panjab. 13. Sohan Lal Suri, Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, Daftar 3, part 2, p.137. 14. William Barr, Journal of a March from Delhi to Kabul,.م‎ 65. ‘‘Wood, strange to say, is not to be bought, nor could I ever get sufficient for a small frame; which appeared so extraordinary that I concluded that my servant was either misinforming me, or had not made sufficient inquiries; however, on asking the Maharaja’s officers about it, they told me it was true, and that Ranjit Singh will neither allow

a tree to be felled until it is actually required for use, nor grass to be cut within twenty four miles around Lahore.” 15. Bhagat Singh Sikh Polity, page 201, New Delhi, 1978. ##, د‎

How did this wal ( become that LL? by Tom Zell hs

A لت‎ FSuu feu sy

T’ONG

“CIRCULATING”

fis Ais Sev fo Us BS |

The second most commonly seen symbol on Chinese style square-holed cash is ““T’?ONG” meaning ‘‘circulating’’. The question of how it originated poses a puzzle for most experts. For example, the leading western scholar, the Jesuit priest Dr. L. Wieger, in his most authoritative of books, “‘Chinese Characters’, offers not an inkling anywhere near the actuality.

Patience and diligence finally paid off. After several years of frustration,, your author stumbled across the answer in one of his ancient etymological dictionaries. The sketches below illustrate how it came about. “T’ONG” consists of two major elements or radicals: On the left is the ‘‘signific’’ or meaningful portion (I), while on the right is the ‘“‘phonetic”’ radical which suggests pronunciation (K). The signific ‘‘CHO”’, signifying movement, is a foot in a crossroads, stopping and going (C). It soon changed drastically from its original picture. This was due to the need to add the phonetic radical. Some parts shifted while others were deleted to make room for the added radical. In fact the foot dropped to the bottom while the right portion of the crossroads was deleted (D). Then another shift and some distortion took place. The foot moved to the left where it joined the then deformed lines of the crossroads (F).

Eventually the foot and crossroads lines were no longer recognizeable as such, taking on a totally different appearance (G & H). The final rendition is a modern radical which no longer stands alone but is always part of a compound character (I). In this case, ““T’ONG” (L).

For most of us accustomed to strictly phonetic systems, close study of these lines is necessary to jolt our brain out of its normal pattern of observation. This is true with any pictorial writing system.

The phonetic element is ““YONG’’, an ancient character in its own right. It consists of a target penetrated by an arrow. Much imagination is needed to envisage this. The horizontal rectangular portion is the target. Two vertical lines to each side are supports. The central vertical line is the arrow which penetrates all the way through. At the top of the arrow is a short horizontal line extending to its right. This latter is a pennant attached to the arrow (J). Above the target is a blossoming flower. Note version with circle above (E). Other renditions are distortions. One is a substitute divorced from the flower concept (K). Over many centuries some symbols lose meaning and are replaced.

We will ignore the meaning of ““YONG” as its primary value here is its “ONG” spoken sound lent to ‘"”T’ONG”’. It is a rebus much as also occurs in Maya and Egyptian glyphics. From stopping and going of feet in crossroads we obtain ideas of motion and movement. On a coin its extention into “‘circulating”’ presents no problem.

Learning Chinese writing by rote memorization is difficult. We are limited on coins in the number of characters we must learn, so it is practical to learn them via their pictorial origins. This requires more work than rote memory but once familiar with them the pictures stay with us. Rote memory if not constantly used is soon lost.

The Wieger book is available from Dover Publications, 180 Varick St., New York 14, NY. Price is about $13.00 U.S. plus postage. Every collector of Chinese coinage should keep a copy handy. It’s the best!

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