ORIENTAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER No. 127 November 1990 - January 1991

From the Secretary-General

The Society’s policy on subscriptions is to set them at the lowest level consistent with maintaining our current range of activities. This policy was adopted in order that membership should be available to as wide a range of people as possible around the world. That

we have managed to retain a £6 subscription for over five years, in the face of inflation, is due in no small part to the hard work of our honorary officers. However, we are now in the position that we can no longer afford to continue our publications at the present frequency unless the subscription is increased. After consultation with the officers it has been decided to raise the annual subscription

to £10, or its equivalent, from lst April 1991. These equivalents will be listed in the next Newsletter for each Region. From the same date we shall cease to charge the extra £1 that has been made in the past to cover the cost of documentation for new members.

I hope that the members will accept the necessity for this increase and agree that membership is still good value for money.

ONS News

  1. The first Oriental Numismatic Congress organised jointly by the ONS and the Indian Coin Society took place recently. An official report of the proceedings has yet to be received from the organisers in Nagpur but Nicholas Rhodes has provided the following note:

The First Oriental Numismatic Congress was held in Nagpur from 27th to 31st October, and was a great success, in spite of the political dramas unfolding in India at the same time, with Hindu/Muslim violence at Ayodhya and the last days of the Prime Ministership of V. P. Singh. These rival events caused disruption of transport and curfews in many parts of India, so a few scholars were unable to reach Nagpur, and the programme had to be hurriedly changed. The academic sessions, presided over by Dr Michael Mitchiner and Prof. Ajay Mitra Shastri, were attended by nearly a hundred delegates from many parts of India, and the quality of the

papers, over thirty in number, was excellent. The Indian Coin Society will be publishing the papers in a special volume. Many delegates had brought fine coins to Nagpur, and the quality of the exhibitions, numbering about one hundred and twenty, was superb;

the judges had difficulty in deciding the ultimate winner, so two gold medals were awarded, one to Dr Chandrashekhar Gupta and one to Mr Goga Jain. There were few gaps in a hectic schedule, ably masterminded by Prashant Kulkarni, but even so the dealers managed to set up stalls, and very good business was done. The special dinner on 29th October was graced by the presence of the Raja Bhonsla of Nagpur, who presented the prizes and addressed nearly two hundred and fifty assembled delegates and guests. Prashant Kulkami and the Indian Coin Society are to be congratulated for organising a really memorable congress that was enjoyed by all, and it is to be hoped that the next such congress in India is held in less exciting times. \(=e\) “

Michael Mitchiner and Bob Senior with Raja Bhonsla of Nagpur Michael Mitchiner comments: “The Congress was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and we were all grateful to members of the Indian Coin Society for their hospitality towards us. For me it was also the first opportunity to meet Indian scholars with whom I have corresponded for many years, in particular Dr A. M. Shastri and Drs A. N. and Bela Lahiri. A notable feature of the Congress was the great enthusiasm shown by the many delegates who converged on Nagpur from all over India.”

The book “Maratha Mints & Coinage” by Ken Wiggins and K. K. Maheshwari was selected by the Indian Coin Society for its 1989 award for the best work on Indian Numismatics.

  1. ONS Meeting in the Netherlands About twenty members from the Netherlands, Germany and England attended the ONS meeting at the Museum of Antiquities at Leiden on October 27th last.

The morning lecture was given by Mr. T. D. Yih on Chinese Kongsi coins from N. W. Borneo. This was extremely well illustrated with slides and proved an interesting talk on a little known coinage (see summary below).

Mr. K. Wiggins gave a talk in the afternoon on the coinage of the Mahdist State in the Sudan, 1885-1898. This talk was illustrated with slides of coins from his collection.

The proceedings ended with an auction of coins of which 5% of the hammer price went towards ONS funds.

Preliminary report on Kongsi cash pieces present in the Ethnographical Museum (EM) at Rotterdam, The Netherlands; by Dr. T. D. Yih.

Data on the tin cash pieces from the several Chinese Kongsis in the former Dutch East Indies are scarce and their illustrations are virtually restricted to the antiquarian books of Netscher/ van der Chijs (1864) and Millies (1871). A total of 18 and 4 different pieces have been mentioned, respectively, for the island of Banka and western Borneo by Millies and 10 and 4, respectively, by Netscher/ van der Chijs.

Surprisingly, the collection of the EM mainly consists of coins from Borneo (total 30; 7 different types) and only 2 different coins from Banka. The majority of the Borneo coins are from the Da Gang Kongsi, the leading Kongsi of the He Shun federation (1776-1854), variations of the type described by Millies under No. 259. Further, there is a piece from the Shi Wu Fen Kongsi (M.262); two pieces from the Lin Tian Kongsi (M.260) and an unlisted variant from the same Kongsi with a corrupt Manchu reverse “Boo Ciowan” instead of the common reverse legends “Zheng Li”. None of the following Borneo pieces are described in the two books mentioned above. Very interesting amongst them are two pieces with the obverse legends “He Shun Gong Si”; one is an extraordinary heavy specimen (about 51 g) with a blank reverse and the other much lighter (about 6 g) has a corrupt Manchu reverse legend (possibly “Boo Kuei’).

The remaining other 3 types are characterized by the absence of the name “Gong Si” on their obverse sides and their rather low weight (about 4-5 g). Their obverses bear the following legends: Gong Ping Jiao Ji (2); Yong Xing He Li (1) and Yi Ben Wan Li (2). A mould of the last type has been illustrated by Netscher/ van der Chijs without further description.

The two pieces from the island of Banka are inscribed: Qing Feng Ri Ming (M.222) and Jing Zhao (M.215). The author is indebted to Dr. A. Ross for the opportunity to study and photograph the collection. 3. ONS Meetings in London.

About 20 members attended the ONS meeting held on the 10th November last in London. It was a pleasure to welcome Mr. Anton Holt from Iceland. A short talk was given by Ken Wiggins on the Mahdist coins of the Sudan. An auction sale of coins realised £86 for the Society’s funds. Thanks are due to Spink & Son Ltd. for kindly donating a number of coins for the sale. The next ONS meeting in London will be held on Saturday, 2nd March, 1991, at 2.30 p.m. at the usual venue, 9 Montague Street (east side of the British Museum). Corrigendum

Part of the Tibetan legend on line 11 of Wolfgang Bertsch’s article in Newsletter 126 was inadvertently omitted. The left-hand column should read: 4 roo 5 ديم‎ Our apologies for the omission.

Other Events

  1. Numismatic al-Andalus After Saragossa (1986) and Lérida (1988), the third “Jarique” or conference on Spanish Muslim numismatics was held at the National Archaeological Museum, Madrid, December 13-16.

This year’s theme was Andalusian coinage in the world’s great numismatic collections. The conference was opened on December

13 by Prof. Viguera (Madrid Complutense University) who lectured on “Madrid in Muslim times”. The 30 to SO participants (from Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Sweden and the USA) then sat through four long and at times gruelling sessions, December 14-15,

earing five hour-long reports and twenty-five shorter papers. Most contributions مس‎ Muslim coins in collections, chiefly the public ones, of Europe, North Africa and the USA, but there were also some odd topics, from recent finds to the mint of Madinat al-Zahra’ to medieval earthenware piggybanks.

The growing success of the Jariques was attested at the business session, December 16, by the fact that no less than four candidatures were entered for hosting the next conference (probably in early 1993, due to the plethora of events in Spain in 1992), the

most serious being Toledo where a numismatic section is being created at the city’s Sepharad Museum. In recognition of the need for a measure of institutionalisation, an advisory committee was set up with secretariat at the Madrid Coin Cabinet (part of the Archaeological Museum).

Jarique III also included a visit to the Coin & Money Museum (Madrid Mint), a dinner and a show of oriental music and dances by an amateur group. The transactions of the conference will be published, like those of 1986 and 1988. Thanks are due to Prof. J. I. Saenz-Diez for his untiring organisational activity, as well as to Spain’s Ministry of Culture for its generous financing of foreign Participation. GPH

  1. The 33rd International Congress of Orientalists (Toronto, Ontario, August 19-25, 1990) There were four numismatic papers on the original programme, but eventually only two were actually given as part of an Indian archaeology subsection in the afternoon of August 20, namely:

Gilles Hennequin (Paris): “The Oriental Section of the Paris Mint’s numismatic collection” (Slide presentation of unpublished or rare specimens)

Prof. Ashvini Agrawal (Punjab University, Chandigarh): “Did Kumaragupta 1 abdicate? A Study of the Numismatic and Epigraphic Data” (No evidence that he did, according to Prof. Agrawal’s proposed new reading of a partially off-flan legend on an otherwise wellknown coin type).

The 34th congress 15 scheduled to take place in Hong Kong, August 1993 or January 1994. GPH

  1. Society for South Asian Studies - Numismatic Section A colloquium, under the Chairmanship of David Bivar, took place on 24 November 1990 at St. Hugh’s College,\ Oxford. The subject was “Method in the Study of Indian Coins”. The following papers were given:

Bob Senior: Control marks and the study of Indo-Scythian coins. Nick Rhodes: Coins, texts and metallurgy in the study of Nepalese and Tibetan coins. Paula Turner: The Western Satraps: coins as a key to history. Richard Gombrich: A numismatic illiterate looks hopefully towards Indian numismatics. Joe Cribb: North West Indian coins as evidence of religious history. For details of the Society for South Asian Studies contact the Membership Secretary: James Cormick, Westminster College, Cambridge, CB3 OAA. Applications for membership, enclosing the current annual subscription (currently £20) can also be sent to him.

Those wishing to join the Numismatic Section should write to…

  1. The organisers of the Eleventh International Numismatic Congress (to be held in Brussels 8-14 September 1991) have issued their second brochure containing information about the Congress and its arrangements. Any members interested in finding out more can contact the Secretariat, viz. Ghislaine Moucharte, Collége Erasme, Place Blaise Pascal 1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.

  2. Umayyad Fals found in Avignon News has come in, via our European correspondent, Gilles Hennequin, of an Umayyad Fals found at Avignon with the help of a metal-detector. The coin is similar to Walker no. 610 (Catalogue of Arab-Byzantine & Post-Reform Umaiyad coins, plate XXIII) and can be dated to the period 698-749 AD. Gilles states that Avignon, situated in Southern France on the east bank of the river Rhéne, was the scene of Arab-Muslim marauding in the 8th-9th centuries, but adds that the coin could have been brought from some Muslim country at a later time. It is now in Finland.

Auction News

The Spink-Taisei annual auction sale will be held at the Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore on Wednesday, 20th February,

  1. The sale includes a large collection of Indian gold coins, a collection of coins from Arakan and Burma as well as a good selection of Chinese, Japanese and other oriental coins. Catalogues are available from Spink & Son Ltd., 5-7 King Street, St. James’s, London SWIY 6QS.

New and Recent Publications

  1. The Cambridge University Press is currently in the process of publishing “The New Cambridge History of India”. This brings together the mass of modem research covering the social, political and cultural history of the sub-continent and updates the original Cambridge History of India published between 1922 and 1937. The New history comprises an overall four-part structure: Part I The Mughals and their contemporaries

Part II Indian States and the Transition to Colonialism Part III The Indian Empire and the Beginning of Modern Society PartIV The Evolution of contemporary South Asia.

Within this structure, a total of 30 different complementary volumes are being published in umiform format. Already available are:

The Portuguese in India, by M. N. Pearson (School of History, University of New South Wales) 198pp, 3 maps. Hard covers £19.50. ISBN 0 521 25713 1. Bengal: the British Bridgehead - Eastern India 1740-1828, by P. J. Marshall (Rhodes Professor of Imperial History, Kings College, London) 210pp, 3 maps. Hard covers £19.50. ISBN 0 521 25330 6.

Vijayanagara, by Burton Stein (Professorial Research Associate, London School of Oriental & African Studies) 224pp, 3 maps. Hard covers £19.50. ISBN 0 521 26693 9.

Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India, by Kenneth W. Jones (Professor of South Asian History, Kansas State University) 248pp. Hard covers £19.50. ISBN 0521 24986 B.

The Politics of India Since Independence, by Paul Brass (Professor of Political Science & South Asian Studies, University of Washington) 372pp. Hard covers £22.50. ISBN 0521 26613 0.

The Sikhs of the Punjab, by J. S. Grewal (Director, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla) c.272pp. Hard covers c. £19.50. ISBN 0 521 26884 2.

Indian Society and the Making of the British Empire, by C. A. Bayly (Smuts Reader in Commonwealth Studies, University of Cambridge) Hard covers £19.50. ISBN 0 521 25092 7. Also due in paperback, c. 241pp at £9.95. ISBN 0 521 38650 0.

For further information on this series write to Shelby Howe, Social Sciences Publicity, Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, U.K. Indian members may obtain this series through Orient Longman Ltd., Bombay.

  1. Mudra, 1990 no. 2, published by the Coin Study Circle, Calcutta, includes the following items: Some Private Seals from Jaipur State, by Prashant P. Kulkarni; Some Notes on Deva Manikya of Tripura, by N. G. Rhodes; Dated Coins of Cooch Bihar, by N. G. Rhodes; A Hoard of Silver Punch-marked Coins from Murshidabad, by N. Kothari.

  2. Nicholas Rhodes has an article entitled ‘The Monetisation of Nepal in the Seventeenth Century’ in Kailash, a Journal of Himalayan Studies, Vol. XV, Number 1-2, 1989 (Kathmandu).

  3. Spink Numismatic Circular for December 1990 includes the following items: Some New Coins of Vologases V, by 0. R. Assar; A Modern forgery of a Gold Coin of the Aksumite King Ousanas I, by Bent Juel Jensen; Unpublished Gold Xerafim of 1678, by F. Rebello; A Tughra on a Gold Coin of the Zaidi Imam al-Mahdi al-‘Abbas, by Samuel Lachman.

  4. Stephen Album has published his list 70, and Monica Tye her list 7. The former includes:

  5. 1/4 dinar of the Fatimid al-Mansur Isma’il of Medinat Fas, year 342 (1.025) 2. Dinar of the Qarakhanid Nusrat al-Din Ibrahim IV Kuj Arslan of Bukhara, no date (4.24)

  6. Broad Dinar of the Ghorid Mu’izz al-Din Muhammad b. Sam with his brother Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad of Ghazna year 597

(5.7g) 4. Heavy dinar of same two brothers, no mint (but struck at Ghazna) year 599 (15.46g) 5. Algiers: 1/4 Sultani in the name of Mahmud II of Médéa, year 1246 (0.705g). Steve writes that after the Dey of Algiers was driven from his capital by the French in 1246/1830, he took refuge with the Amir of Titteri at the latter’s capital of Médéa for several weeks. The French army forced him to quit Médéa and he eventually established his headquarters at Constantine. A unique silver quarter piastre is also known from Médéa (KM 80.3).

  1. Dirhem of the Rasulid al-Ashraf ‘Umar of Zebid year 695. 7. Sultans of Delhi: Ibrahim Suri rupee of Benares year 962.

Monica Tye’s lists are a good source of inexpensive oriental coins, especially for beginners in this field. (Address: Monica Tye, Poll Toran, Loch Eynort, Isle of South Uist, Western Isles, PA81 5SJ, U.K.)

  1. Mr. A. Shams Eshragh (ONS member), Estack Co., 28 Shams Abadi Ave., Isfahan, Iran, has just published a book in Persian entitled: “Nokhostin Sekke Haye Emperaturiye Eslam” - The Earliest Coinage of the Islam Empire; hard cover, 20 x 26cm, 230 pp including 52 plates; price, with air postage, £20.

This book is a study of the earliest coinage of the Islamic Empire, beginning with the very first striking, up to the end of the Umayyad dynasty, including the Arab-Sasanian and Arab-Tabaristanian coinage of the Abbasid period. It also includes advice on reading Arab-Sasanian and Kufic coins, and a table showing the mints and dates of Umayyad coins, which can be read easily in both English and Arabic.

The book is available for sale from the above address.

A Byzantine. countermark on a ‘follis’ bearing the mint signature of Theoupolis (Antioch) by 2. Pavlou la

The ‘follis’ illustrated’ above (figs. 1a and b), which purports to be the product of a Byzantine mint at Theoupolis (Antioch), has been countermarked with a Byzantine cruciform monogram stamp reading HPAK.? There can be no doubt that this countermark was applied after the coin was manufactured because the strike clearly obliterates part of the border.

The obverse depicts three standing figures which are evidently taken from a Heraclian prototype, probably a follis. The reverse is similar in design to Grierson’s class 3 folles of Constantinople.? However, since the coin is re-struck not all of the details are clear. The design that can be defined is the Uncial letter M, the ‘officina’ letter gamma and below this the mint signature (T)HEY for Theoupolis; the word (A)NNO is to the left of M. The areas above M and to the right are not clear because the design of the under-type clashes with the subsequent over-strike. The coin weighs 4.9g and the flan is irregular in form. This countermark had previously been recorded on Byzantine copper coins; it was first published on a follis of Heraclius (regnal year 20?) from the Kharcha hoard.’ The follis of Constantinople, officina letter gamma, regnal year 23 (AD 632/633) that is illustrated above (figs. 2a and b) is in the collection of Mr Peter Donald® and to my knowledge the countermark has so far not been recorded on folles later than this date.

The Heraclian year 23 (AD 623/633) will, therefore, tentatively serve as the introductory date of the countermark; but its purpose or duration cannot for the present be established. It may be assigned to Heraclius (AD 610-641) or Constantine II (popularly known as Heraclius Constantine) (d. April or May AD 641) and perhaps even to Heraclius II (more often referred to as Heraclonas or Heracleonas) who was appointed by his father (Heraclius) Augustus AD 636 (d. between October AD 641 and March AD 642.

The significance of this obscure monogram countermark now becomes apparent. It presents, I think, firm evidence that the host coin was manufactured sometime before or about March AD 642 because the succeeding Emperor of Byzantium, Constantine III (Constans) (AD 642-668) could not have had his name abbreviated to HPAK and therefore the stamp could not have been in use during his reign.

The question that now arises 1s: What authority was responsible for the production of this coin? Was it Byzantine, Persian or Arabian? In 1977 W. Hann published several ‘Theoupolis folles’ which depicted on the obverse two as well as three standing figures; all borrowed from known Heraclian prototypes.’ Hann, because of style and fabric, had considered these ‘folles’ to be official Byzantine coins struck by a military mint during Heraclius’ campaigns. However, the anachronistic dates (of the types Hann published) and the somewhat impossible die-links would appear to exclude the Byzantines.* This might be supported by the fact that whoever was responsible for applying this countermark perhaps recognised that the ‘Theoupolis follis’ he beheld was not an official coin and so decided to place the stamp on the obverse instead of the reverse (which is the norm?) to distinguish it from other authentic coins.

In an earlier article on the same topic G. Bates had suggested that it might have been possible for the Persians, who had captured Theoupolis in AD 610 and had held the city for about eighteen years, to have issued these ‘folles’ to “supply a Byzantine type for the Byzantine populace.”? But why should the Persians, who had had a long numismatic history, introduce a coinage to appease the locals? J. R. Philips had shown that though it were possible that certain 12 nummia of Alexandria, Egypt, might have been struck by the Persians, these coins were not copied from any Heraclian prototype.’® It is because of the iconography that one encounters on these ‘Theoupolis folles’ that the Persians must also be rejected as candidates; after all would it not be an embarrassment and, needless to add, bad propaganda if they had permitted a coinage to circulate in an area under their control which portrayed, not their great king of kings, but figures which represented their mortal enemies!

Presuming that the instigators of the coin(s) under discussion were the Arabs, which will depend on whether the above mentioned cruciform monogram stamp comes to light on Heraclian coins bearing regnal year 28 (AD 637/638) and later, then the perpetrators were, in my opinion, local (Christian?) artists employed by the local city authority within Arab guidelines. Stratos states that “they (the Arabs) proclaimed throughout that the conquered population were free to retain their faith, their language and their customs.”!! | believe that this liberal policy extended to the coinage of the especially selected places that coined monies (Fals) without

‘censorship’ as to the chosen type or design because just as they had little administrative experience, the Arabs had practically no knowledge of mint technology when they conquered Syria and Palestine. Notes

  1. 1 am grateful to Michael O’ Hara for providing the enlarged photograph of the coin.

  2. P. Grierson, Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks collection and in the Whittemore collection. Two, part one 1968, p.55, countermark G.

  3. Op. cit. p.226. 4. A. J. Dikigoropoulos, A Byzantine hoard from Kharcha, Cyprus. N.C. 1956.

  4. I am indebted to Peter Donald for permission to publish his coin and for providing the photograph. 6. For the chronology and correct name of each emperor I have followed the late Professor A. N. Stratos, “Byzantium in the seventh century 634-641”. Translated by Harry T. Hionides, Amsterdam 1972.

  5. W. Hann, Minting activity in the diocese of Oriens under Heraclius. Spink’s N. Circ. 1977.

  6. Hann in his Moneta Imperii Byzantini, Vol. III, has reconsidered his theory and now assigns these coins under Syrian imitations.

  7. George E. Bates, The Antioch mint under Heraclius. ANSMN 16 (1970).

  8. J. R. Philips, The Byzantine bronze coins of Alexandria in the seventh century. N.C. 1962, p.239 nos. 7a-7b. 11. Stratos, op. cit, p.121.

    A Kakuyid Dirham of Isfahan, year 424 A.H. by Naoto Hattori

The political situation in Isfahan (ASP, Sipahan or Isbahan) under Ghaznavid influence has not hitherto been treated by Islamic numismatics.’ The publication below of a unique coin will provide new material for such study.

Mint Isbahan; date (42)4 A.H. (1032/33 AD). 5 gm, 28mm.

عضر المن.‏veR رصان.‏vbO

‏0D رمو ن ‏VA لا ‏iw الا اليف

ص eda )‏Wd هل دحو رشالك لذ

اعلام iw ‏lv ابو سعيد

محر ‏rey مسا دمن الله nigram ‏i

‏nigram مور زول

‏NW رد ‏eec سم ‏lla ‏ رزه ([ برض I( هررلم.أصهان

على

‏marc كله ولوكرة -رسفلا ‏ سنه ار (إبع و يرشعن ‏selba Keran, (x 33

Names of rulers: On the obv.: Nasir Din Allah Abu Sa’id Mas’ud (A Yamani Ghaznavid king [AH 421-432]); on the rev.: ‘Adud al-Din Muhammad b. Dushmanzar (A Kakuyid king [AH 398-433]), and Abbasid Caliph al-Qa’im b’ Amr Allah [AH 422-467].

Maybe some will be puzzled by this coin as to why the Yamini Ghaznavid Mas’ud’s authority was acknowledged by the Kakuyid Muhammad b. Dushmanzar at Isfahan, a very distant city from Ghazna. The fact was that Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna came to Rayy (or Muhammadiya, now near Tehran) on Jumada I, 420 (about one year before his death) and he appointed his son Mas’ud as the governor of Rayy and Isfahan.? Mahmud’s death took place on 23. 4. 421 AH/ 30.4. 1030 AD in Ghazna. His preferred successor was Muhammad, who was swiftly invited to Ghazna from Jozjan, while Mas’ud received a secret letter from his sister about his father’s death, in Isfahan, a month later on 21. 5. (27. 5. AD). As Mas’ud himself was very keen to succeed to the throne, he quickly left Isfahan on 25. 6 (30. 6 AD), and managed to become sole ruler by the end of September year 421.

Meanwhile, Muhammad b. Dushmanzar (cited also as ‘Ala al-Dawlah, Ibn Kakuya or Pesar-e Kaku) had regained Isfahan as his capital after the departure of Mas’ud in 421. Soon after his accession Mas’ud had to deal with this challenge in the Jibal (present central Iran) by sending Tash Farrash in 422 AH and Abu Sahl Hamdavi in 424 AH with large armies. These were to remain in the Jibal till at least 426 AH, fighting intermittently with Ibn Kakuya in places like Karaj Abu Dulaf etc. During these years Ibn Kakuya lost Isfahan in 424 and 425 to the Ghaznavids but again regained it in 427.4 Evidence from coins shows that in 426, 429 and 430 Ghaznavid influence extended to Rayy or Isfahan.°

It must be remembered as background to the history of this time that Ibn Sina (Avicenna 375-428 [985/6-1036/7 AD]) was a Vizier to Ibn Kakuya till his death in Hamadan. He came to Isfahan, then the flourishing capital of the Kakuyids, around 414 AH. He lived in Isfahan in a house of *Abd Allah b. Bibi in a quarter known as Kun-e Gonbad. His most celebrated Books (Kitab al-Shifa’, Qanun fi al-Tibb) were completed there. But during the attack of Isfahan by Abu Sahl Hamdavi, maybe in 424, his large precious manuscript of Kitab al Isnaf was plundered. He was buried in Hamadan, and it was said that his litter was transferred to Isfahan and buried in a quarter of Kun-e Gonbad.° Notes

  1. H. Busse, “Iran under the Buyids”, Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 4, 1975, p.299; C. E. Bosworth, Islamic Dynasty, 1967 (The Kakuyids or Kakwayhids); W. Blunt, /sfahan, Pearl of Persia, London, 1966.

  2. Gardizi, Zayn al-Akhbar, ed. by A. H. Habibi, Tehran, 1347/1968, p.193. 3. Abu 21-1501 Baihaqi, Tarikh-e Baihaqi, ed. by A. A. Fayyaz, second.لع‎ Mashhad, 1977, pp.12-13, 17, 18. 4. Tarikh-e Baihaqi, pp.504-506, 574, 606, 654, 668, 688, 699, 721-22; 0. E. Bosworth, The Ghaznavids, Edinburgh, 1963, pp.74, 234-235; Sayyid Ibrahim Dibaji, /bn Sina, Tehran, 1364/1985, p.48, n.4 (Extracts from Ibn al-Athir’s Kamil, vol. 9).

  3. I have not searched through numismatic bibliographies on the Kakuyids. It was written that the late R. J. Hebert once offered one as a supplement to his article in ONS NL, no. 100 (Feb.-May, 1986).

  • Ghaznavid coins of Rayy and Hamadan, see E. von Zambaur, “Nouvelles Contributions 4 la Numismatique Orientale”, Numismatische Zeitschrift, vol. 47, 1914, no.455-459 and ANS Annual Report, 1985, p.15.

  • Other known Ghaznavid-Kakuyid coins, i) AR 421, 424 Muhammadiya, G. C. Miles, “Another Kakwayhid Note”, ANSMN, 1972, p.139; ii) AR 426 Isbahan, Zambaur, Miinzpragungen des Islam, Wiesbaden, 1968, [Sinouffi, Mosul, 1891]; iii) AV 429 Muhammadiya, 35. Album, Price List, no. 46 [June 1986] no. 54; iv) AR 430, Isbahan, Miles, op. cit., p.141. 6. Abu ‘Ubaid Jozjani (disciple of Ibn Sina), Zendegi Name-ye Ibn Sina, ed. by Sayyid Ibrahim Dibaji, op. cit., pp.49-56.

A Hoard of Timashas from Garhwal by N. G. Rhodes

In November 1990 I obtained from Mr Goga Jain of Delhi a group of seventy-three Garhwali timashas, most probably all deriving from a single hoard. Mr Jain said that he had disposed of a few pieces before I acquired the group, so the original hoard comprised at least eighty coins.

The parcel contained nine coins struck by the Garhwal rulers before the Gorkha conquest, and the remaining sixty-four coins were all struck with the name of the Nepalese King Girvan Yuddha. The coins may be listed as follows:- Shah Alam II 1-4 Yr. 12. Wts. 1.8, 2.2 (x2), 2.3g.

As last, but pellet before and after ‘12°. Wt. 2.3g. Yr. 13. Wt. 2.2g. Yr. 15. Wt. 2.2g.

Yr. 1191 AH and 1840 below, with ‘4’ written retrograde. The latter date is probably in error for 1834 VS,

corresponding to the AH year and to 1777/8 AD. Wt..ع‎ As last, but date not legible. Wt. 1.7g. — Shah Alam 11 & Girvan Yuddha, c.1804-6. As RGV 1378. Wt. 2.3g.

As RGV 1379. Wt. 2.2g. 12-18 As RGV 1380, with 4 obv. and 5 rev. dies. Wts. 1.9, 2.1 (x2), 2.2 (x3), 2.3g. Shah Akbar 11 & Girvan Yuddha, ©. 1806-

As RGV 1382. Wt. 2.2g. 20-21 As RGV 1383. Wt. 2.2g (x2). As RGV 1385 - same dies. This has Akbar Shah on both sides, and shares rev. die with RGV 1388 below. Wt. 2.28. 23-28 As RGV 1386 - same dies. This has Girvan Yuddha on both sides, and shares obv. die with RGV 1388 below. Wt. 2.1, 2.2 (x5) g. As last, but ‘Gir’ at end of top line on both sides, and flower symbol at rev. lower left. Symbol on obv. is not clear. This coin not die linked with other varieties. Wt. 2.2g. 30-31 As last, with ‘Gir’ at end of top line on both sides, and tiger-knife pointing downwards at lower left on both sides. Shares die with RGV 1392 below. Wt. 2.2, 2.3g. As last, but different pair of dies. Wt. 2.1g. As RGV 1388, same dies. Wt..ع‎ 34-5 As RGV 1388, but obv. die of RGV 1386 and rev. die of RGV 1385. Wt. 2.2 (x2)g. 36-45 As RGV 1389. 5 obv. dies and 5 rev. dies. Wts. 1.9, 2.2 (x5)g. 46-58 As RGV 1391. 8 obv. dies and 2 rev. dies. Wts. 1.9, 2.0 (x2), 2.2 (x10)g. 59-71 As RGV 1392. 8 obv. dies and 6 rev. dies. 1 obv. die links with nos. 30-31 above. Wts. 1.9, 2.2 (x12)g. 72-3 As last, but ‘h’ of ‘Shah’ to 1. of ‘Sha’ instead of above it. Obv. die links with last type. Wts. 2.2 (x2)g.

The hoard contains none of the coins dated to the years (18)67 VS or later, that were struck from 1810 AD onwards, but it does contain most of the earlier coins issued during the Gorkha occupation of Garhwal. The date of deposit would therefore appear to be sometime after the accession of Shah Akbar II in 1806, and before 1810; most probably about 1809; as such, it confirms the general

arrangement of types in RGV. The die-link between RGV 1388 and 1386, noted as possible in RGV, has now been confirmed, and certain other links between types are noted. In addition a few minor varieties not mentioned in RGV have been recorded.

The absence of any specimens of RGV 1381, 1384, 1387 and 1390 is interesting, given that the number of specimens published in RGV would suggest that these should not be rare varieties. A closer examination of the specimens listed under numbers 1387 and

1390 shows that the specimens listed, but not illustrated, in RGV are in very poor condition and cannot be securely attributed to any particular variety; as a result of a die duplicate in this new hoard, one piece listed under no. 1390 can now be recognised as an example of no. 1388, and some of the others may have been similarly misclassified. As a result, these varieties may be rather scarcer than the number of specimens listed in RGV would indicate. Also, it is possible that no. 1390 was struck after, rather than before, no. 1392.

The weights of specimens in the hoard are generally heavier than those recorded in RGV. This is not entirely surprising, as the coins in the present hoard are in nearly uncirculated condition, whereas many of the specimens in the Valdettaro and Rhodes collections, and recorded in RGV, were duplicates from the Lucknow Museum collection, and were heavily worn. Ref: RGV (Rhodes, Gabrisch and Valdettaro, The Coinage of Nepal, Royal Numismatic Society, 1989)

Some Bhutanese Overstrikes by N. G. Rhodes

Some Bhutanese copper coins are found overstruck on British Indian coins. These overstrikes give a firm terminus post quem for the Bhutanese type, and in a series where firm date indications are difficult to find, all such evidence is important. After several years of searching, I have only found three varieties of Bhutanese coin overstruck on other coins. The three varieties are illustrated below:

  1. Period II with ‘Sa’ to left of ‘ndra’. Rev. with four dots. This coin is overstruck on a cut down Quarter Anna dated 1835 (C.867). The coins I have in my collection are all die duplicates and weigh: 4.1, 3.9, 3.8 (3), 3.7, 3.6 (2), 3.3 (3)g.

  2. As last, but slightly different obv. die and rev. with no dots, overstruck on the same undertype. Wts. 3.8, 3.6g.

  3. period II, with cross to right of ‘ndra’. Rev. with four dots. Overstruck on a cut down Quarter Anna dated 1862 (Y.7). Wts. 3.7 (2), 3.25.

The style of nos. 1 and 2 is very fine, but the style of the obv. of no. 3 is slightly crude, with the design tilting to the right. The weights are relatively consistent, as would be expected with blanks cut from coins of even thickness. I have tried to find as many coins as possible struck from these dies, and so far all specimens identified show signs of being overstruck on the same types of Quarter Anna coins. These Quarter Annas circulated extensively in India for many years after they were struck, so although a firm terminus post quem is provided for the Bhutanese over-type, the precise date of striking is still uncertain. and indeed the Quarter Anna dated 1862 was struck up to as late as 1874/5. The Quarter Annas dated 1835 were only demonetised in 1878, so any date up to then, or even slightly later, is theoretically possible for the Bhutanese overstriking, although I would place their issue rather earlier.

Universal Coin Unifies Empire by Tom Zell

Few coin collectors, it seems, bother with boring history. Few historians bother with dull details of coins. I bother with both. In history I see exciting events and fascinating personalities. Rather than percentages of precious metals contained, I find far greater values in my coins. Our English references on Chinese coins reveal little history. Our books on Chinese history have little to say of coins. Researching both, we come up with enjoyable discoveries about coins in our collections, about their creators and their times. A coin held in hand thereby comes to life. For well-known obvious examples let us turn to the ancient Chou, Ch’in and Han Dynasties. Chou Dynasty odd-shaped coins - in their great numbers - tell us of economic prosperity evolved out of barter. Caches of miniature spade and knife coins, numbering at times in the thousands of coins, are not uncommon. The geographic extent of these coins also speaks of a far-reaching economy. But the most fascinating insight concerns the great number of states issuing them, states relatively independent of one another. With places of origin clearly inscribed, they inform us several hundred sources existed. These diminished; by the end of the Chou Dynasty only six major states survived, others having been gobbled up by internecine wars.

Remarkable differences in shape and size are illustrated in figure 1. A person needn’t be literate for these alone sparked strong regional loyalties. Famous regional place names are seen on coins in figs. 2 and 3. This multiplicity bears out historical records saying the ruler of the Chou Dynasty had become a mere figurehead - a token symbol of cultural unity - not a king to be obeyed - the era now known as the Warring States Period of c. 500 to 221 B.C.

But the coins were all done away with. They were replaced by one universal coin - a devastating reformation in Chinese life with lasting effect. It was done by the emperor of the Ch’in Dynasty, Shih Huang Di - who also created the astonishing underground army of life-sized terra cotta soldiers now an archaeological wonder of our world.

Even before he conquered China, Shih Huang Di took steps to centre all power and authority in himself. He removed from the coinage of his realm any suggestion of regional loyalty by stating only the weight of the coin in the inscription (fig. 4).

Upon conquering nearly all of China, he banned all coinage except his one universal coin, the Ban Liang, again declaring only the weight of the coin with no hint of regional origin (fig. 5).

This was no accident. His chief counsellor, Li Ssu, advised standardisation to bring about unification of the empire and the centralization of authority in Shih Huang Di. This included all laws, weights and measures, writing, and even widths of supply-cart axles to assure ease of passage from variant road ruts of one area into another.

Surviving regional potentates and their families were required to take up residence in the Ch’in capital of Chang-An. So that thinking of Confucius and other philosophers could not detract from the Draconian legalist policies of Li Ssu, records of the past were burnt and uncooperative scholars buried alive. Unification of the empire via standardisation removed most vestiges of regionalism in only a few short years.

From an extreme of many coins of diverse size, shape and weight with hundreds of place names - so mindful of regional loyalties - we see another extreme of a sole universal coin bearing no sign of origin.

Shih Huang 101:5 rule was too harsh to last. Soon after his death the Ch’in Dynasty collapsed in rebellion. Rulers of the succeeding Han Dynasty thought well of unity so they retained many of Shih Huang Di’s standardisations. His Ban Liang remained popular until too many fluctuations in size and weight so frustrated Emperor Wu Di that in 118 B.C. he replaced it with

a new coin, the Wu Chu, which also simply stated the coin’s weight (fig.6).

The Wu Chu can be claimed to be the most popular coin in world history, being issued for 700 years. At times others were issued alongside it but the Wu Chu retained its popularity until 621 A.D. Although its times were often turbulent, it remained a symbol of the ultimate desire of contending rulers, a desire for a unified empire.

bay” \

O)\ (o

oo

Figure 1 CHOU DYNASTY (c.1100-221 BC) Bronze coins were moulded in many shapes and sizes, This small sampling shows many autonomous states existed. (1/2 size shown; place names deleted).

YANG | V

“sunny

south

/ “6م10 Figure 3

r

/ 3

AN

“peaceful”

CHOU DYNASTY. The An Yang spade coin is still common. The ancient Shang Dynasty’s capital was at An Yang c.1300 BC, a village in Honan still retaining the name. Legend: “An Yang” - “Peaceful Southern Mountain Slope”. (Shown actual size).

CH’T

STATE

H+ BW

“exchange

money”

Figure 2 CHOU DYNASTY. State of Ch’i miniature sword coins may have been issued circa 900 BC or earlier (Wang Yu-Ch’uan, p.153). A powerful and wealthy state on the Shantung Peninsula, Ch’i

was the last conquered by Shih Huang Di in 221 BC. Legend: “Ch’i Fa Huo” - “Ch’i State Legal Exchange Money”. (Shown actual size).

CHU (read “Weight clockwise) units”

ERH BK CHUNG “two” ny, “weight”

SHTH

“ten”

Figure Pre-dynastic Ch’in state coin. Forerunner of Ban Liang. Legend: “Chung Shih Erh Chu” - “Weight 12 Chus”. (equals half-ounce, same as Ban Liang).

LIANG

BAN CHU ا‎ (ROX ), “ “ بم “ ني “ecnuo” lfah sdeeS ‏evif

erugiF 5; erugiF ‏6 NI’HC YTSANYD 602-122(.)CB naB,gnaiL lfah” ecnuo NAH YTSANYD 602( CB - 022.)DA uW,uhC eviF” “,‏suhC,nioc eht eripme reiifnu fo rorepmE hihS gnauH.iD deussI nioc deussi morf 811 CB ot 816 DA - 007.sraey A uhC ‏si until 118 BC. He knew an army can conquer an empire but: the weight of 100 seeds of millet grain. alone cannot hold it.

Regional markings were never again prominently displayed on imperial Chinese coinage. Mintmarks appeared at times on the reverse, suggesting a degree of local autonomy, but a centralized unity remained the desired situation. Shih Huang Di knew it takes more than an army to hold an empire once conquered. In his day he saw coins as having a political value exceeding the monetary. We might ask: how so today?

In a side issue here, it is said that due to Shih Huang Di’s burning of the books and his revision of the writing system we cannot reliably translate written characters in use prior to his Ch’in Dynasty. It 15 said that due to this hiatus in writing’s continuity the etymological research of the late scholar Arthur B Coole is useless to us. In his seven volume encyclopedia, five are devoted to translations of place names on Chou spade and knife and sword coins.

This notion is born of ignorance of the allied methods of etymology, epigraphy and linguistics. Using the comparative method of linguistics, for example, we can reliably determine the pronunciation of words as spoken prior to the time when any written records

existed. We do not need an unbroken continuity in Chinese writing in order to determine the origins and evolution of written characters prior to Shih Huang Di’s time. The assumptions of Arthur Braddan Coole in this are reasonably reliable. A clear continuity does greatly help, of course, but it is not an absolute essential to epigraphic research.

Then, too, it is said that Shih Huang Di’s ban was not as thorough as he would have liked as some pre-Ch’in books and records survived. Rote memory being reliable in its day, some books were re-recorded by scholars after Shih Huang Di’s death. The break in continuity was anything but complete.

Book review

TRANKEBARMONTER

cae ia iba, Vurderingspriser 1991. فى‎ @ 200. % ee by Uno Barner Jensen. § \($3\) ISBN 87 983682 -0-6. ١ 2 Published by the author:… Uf ay

“م ممه

Card covers, AS 28 pages. Danish text. Major types illustrated by line drawings.

This catalogue is an updated version of the 1983 edition, from which nearly 100 fakes and incorrectly attributed coins have been eliminated and the number of varieties listed increased. The number of illustrations, an example of which is reproduced here, have also been increased in number. They are excellent clear line drawings obtained from several coins where necessary. Those already familiar with the coins of Tranquebar will realise that in many instances such a line drawing is worth a dozen photographs of actual examples which can all-too-often vary in grade from awful to horrible with a multiplicity of faults, including being struck off-centre on a flan too small for the dies before being worn, pitted and mutilated. There is now a clear overview of types which the collector has the possibility of obtaining. Rarity ratings for all coins are given, and for many, that information frequently needed by the collector, the grade of preservation in which the coin is normally found. No catalogue is without its faults and minor errors. The first of these is a footnote on page 19 which is not tagged in the text, though it is fairly obvious to which coin the note refers. As a dealer and collector one might criticise some of the prices, or assume that the grades are not properly allocated. However, all catalogues might be criticised on those counts. The ‘average’ grade in which the coin usually turns up seems to be a little on the high side when compared to my own collection put together over the last twenty years or so.

It is also unfortunate that the author did not get in touch before the work was published as this would have resulted in translations being provided where necessary, for although the book is not too difficult to use, those with no knowledge of a Scandinavian language may find things somewhat confusing 11

For those in the U.K. that have no wish to go to the trouble of writing and obtaining foreign exchange the book may also be obtained from Galata Print, Park House, Albert Road, Wolverhampton WV6 OAG for £5 which includes postage. Paul Withers

Galata Print, Park House, Albert Road, Wolverhampton WV6 0AG