ORIENTAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

ONS NEWS There will be an ONS meeting at the British Museum’s Coin and Medal Department on Saturday 26th September 1.30 - 4.30 p.m. It 5 hoped that two oriental numismatists from the Hermitage will be present. A paper on Chinese secret society coins will be given by Helen Wang.

Bill Warden has written to say that about one quarter of US members have not paid their subscription despite reminders. This society functions on a very limited budget, hence timely payment of subscriptions is essential to its continuation. We urge all members who have yet to do so, to send Bill the due amount at the earliest opportunity.

Obituary - René Negleman On 22 May 1992, one of our founder members, Monsieur René Negleman, of Nivelles, Belgium, died after a short illness in his 62nd year. He was a lifelong collector of oriental coins with a wide knowledge, specialising in Nepal and Annam, but with interests extending into all series. In 1970 he produced his Repertoire de Monnaies du Nepal, the first publication on Nepalese Coins in the French language, listing about 750 coin-types, many for the first time. In recent years he concentrated more on banknotes, producing

an important catalogue of the notes of French Indo-China and completing, just before his death, a companion volume on the early notes of Vietnam up to 1950.

He was a founder member of the Cercle Numismatique de Charleroi, which was started by M. Dieudonné in 1950, and since 1985 had been President of that Society. While most of his published work was in French, and not widely read outside Belgium, he contributed anonymously to Pick’s standard Catalog of World Paper Money and to the volume of South-East Asian Coins and Paper Money. He was a numismatist of stature, whose work deserves recognition. He will be mourmed by his many numismatic friends throughout the world. NGR

Members’ News

On 7 February a felicitation event took place in Varanasi in honour of Dr. P. L. Gupta. At this event, Dr. Gupta was presented with the two volumes of ‘Indian Numismatics, History, Art & Culture (Essays in honour of Dr Parmeshwari Lal Gupta)’, edited by Dr. D. W. MacDonald. Many eminent scholars contributed to these volumes, details of which appeared in the last Newsletter. We are very pleased to offer Dr. Gupta our congratulations on this honour. Sadly, Dr. Gupta suffered a serious heart attack several days after the event, but has since recovered. We hope he will maintain his recovery and send him the Society’s best wishes for good health in the future. Other News 1. Tiibingen Conference The sixth Tiibingen week-end conference on Moslem numismatics was held April 25-26, 1992, attracting some 30 participants from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Britain (ONS secretary general M Broome), Sweden, Turkey, India (ONS South Asian secretary P Kulkarni) and the USA (Steve Album and ANS Islamic curator M Bates).

Seven papers were read during the two working sessions Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, two in English and the rest in German. H Herrli (Karlsruhe) described the technical proceedings at the mints of the Mughal empire and its princely and/or colonial successors until industrial coin production was introduced by the British in the 19th century, with some interesting remarks by Prof. Ch. Toll (Sweden) as the leading authority on the operation of mints in the medieval Moslem world. Tiibingen curator and lecturer L Ilisch reported on his forthcoming publication of early Moslem bronze coins of Palestine (7th - 11th centuries AD). - Ehlert (Heidelberg) made a thorough description of the coinage of Ottoman sultan Ahmad I (1012-26/ 1603-17), and Tiibingen student W Grub attempted the same for Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri (906 - 922/ 1501-17). ONS secretary P Kulkarni offered a die-link study of the zodiacal mohurs of Mughal emperor Jahangir (1014-37 / 1605-27), based mostly on specimens in the collection of the Paris coin cabinet which he was able to study on his way to and from the Brussels congress in 1991. 5. Album read the Safavid section of his forthcoming contribution to the Encyclopedia Iranica on the coinage of Iran from ca. 1200 to 1950AD. Finally, Tiibingen student F Schwarz described the copper coinage of the Golden Horde, with remarks by 5 Album outlining the continuation of that coinage in the guise of the so-called ‘autonomous’ coppers of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia (16th - 19th centuries).

Before this year’s proceedings were declared closed the author of this report was invited to say a few words concerning the prospects for a decent Islamic section in the Survey of Numismatic Research hopefully to be released at the start of the next International Numismatic Congress to be held in Berlin, 1997, and to make proposals on what the Islamic numismatics community and the Tiibingen Institute as its mouthpiece could and should do in order to avoid a repetition of the Brussels disaster. The subject will surely be taken up again at the seventh Tiibingen conference scheduled for April 24-25th, 1993. GPH

Nasik Institute (1) The Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies and the British Society for South Asian Studies, in collaboration with interested scholars in India and Europe, have undertaken a project to document and study Roman, Byzantine and Venetian coins found in the Indian sub-continent. Collectors who have any such coins found in the Indian sub-continent are invited to send details (where possible, a photograph, rubbing or cast) with a note of the coin’s weight to:-

Mr Amal Kumar Jha, Director of the Indian Institute for Research in Numismatic Studies, Anjaneri, Nasik, Maharashtra, 422213, India or

Dr D W MacDowall, Chairman of the Society for South Asian Studies, Admont, Dancers End, Tring HP23 6JY, U.K. Details of identification will be sent if required.

(11) The Institute has also instituted a one year post-graduate diploma course in Indian Numismatics from July 1992. Details were received too late for inclusion in the last newsletter and it is not clear whether the course is due to be repeated in future years. Any members who would like more information should write to the Director of the Institute.

Exhibitions and Celebrations (i) The Royal Dutch Numismatic Society is celebrating its centenary this year. A large number of numismatic activities are planned as are many exhibitions. Further details can be obtained from the society’s current President, ONS member Jan Lingen. (11) The Cabinet de Médailles, Paris, will be opening an exhibition in September 1992 on Chinese coinage. This is due to tie in with another exhibition entitled “Impressions of China” at the Galérie Colbert, Bibliotheque Nationale.

(111) | The exhibition ‘Geld aus Tibet’ at the Reiss Museum, Mannheim, mentioned in Newsletter 131, seems to have been rescheduled

to be on view from 4 June to 30 August this year.

A Hiyri-Julian conversion program has been devised by Michael Mann (SOAS) and is available from the Royal Asiatic Society, 60 Queens Gardens, London W2 3AF, UK for £9.50. The program provides ‘instant conversion of Muslim Hiri dates, by day, or year,

to the Julian calendar’. Supplied on 5 l4inch disk, the program can run on IBM and compatible computers. 0 for conversion to Gregorian, Julian to Hiri, Gregorian to Hyri are in preparation and will be supplied to registered subscribers on concessional terms.

The next meeting of the society for South Asian Studies, Numismatic Section, will take place on 21 November 1992 in the British Museum, Department of Coins and Medals, 11.00 - 16.30. Papers on recent research in South Asian Coins will be presented. For more details contact Joe Cribb at the Museum.
The Ancient Indian and Iran Trust, in collaboration with the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK are mounting a major exhibition entitled ‘The Crossroads of Asia - Transformations in Image and Symbol’. The exhibition, in the Adeane Gallery of the Museum, will run from 6 October to 13 December 1992 and will present 221 ancient objects, including coins, found or made in

Afghanistan or Pakistan, on loan from major British and European museums and private collections. A fully illustrated catalogue, edited by Elizabeth Errington and Joe Cribb, with Maggie Claringbull, will be available from 5 October, price £28.50, from the

Ancient India and Iran Trust,…, UK. The price includes UK or overseas surface mail.

The Nicholas Lowick Memorial Fund for the Promotion of Oriental Numismatic Research The Royal Numismatic Society is pleased to announce that this year it is making three awards of £400 each from the Lowick Memorial Fund. The awards are being made to Prof. Devendra Handa of the Panjab University, Chandigarh, India for his work on the coins of the tribes of Ancient India; Dr. E V Zeymal of the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia. for his research on the coins of ancient Sogdia; and Mr W C Schultz, doctoral student at the University of Chicago, USA, for his research on the monetary system of the Bahri Mamluks of Egypt and Syria. All three intend to use the money to cover some of the costs involved in visiting London to study the relevant coins in the British Museum.

This fund was set up by the Royal Numismatic Society as a permanent memorial to its former Fellow and Officer, Nicholas Lowick, Curator of Oriental Coins in the British Museum, 1962-1986. Nicholas was not only a leading international authority in this field, but is also remembered with affection as a generous friend to all interested in Oriental coins, scholars, enthusiasts, collectors and dealers alike.

Since 1988 the Society has made annual awards from the Fund to promote the study of the subject to which Nicholas devoted his career. Annual awards from the fund will be two or three grants of up to £400 each towards travel and accommodation costs to enable the successful applicant(s) to study some aspect of Oriental numismatics.

Applications should be made in writing to the Society by 1 March each year. The application should consist of: 1) a description of the project for which the grant 1s sought; 2) details of intended expenditure; 3) a curriculum vitae of the applicant and; 4. one written reference from an academic of recognised position. Awards will be made in the May of the same year.

Those wishing to apply or enquire should write to the Honorary Secretary of the Royal Numismatic Society, c/o Department of Coins and Medals, British Museum, London WC1B 3DG.

Donations to the Fund are still welcome and should be sent to the same address. Cheques should be made payable to The Nicholas-Lowick Memopial Eund.

New and Recent Publications

The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India for 1990 and 1991, JNSI Vol LII 1990 Parts 1 and II, have been published and contain the following items: JNSI Vol LIY Parts 1 and 2 An Inscribed Silver Punch-marked coin - S J Manglam. Some new Finds of Sangam Period Chera Coins - R Krishnamurthy.

A New Kushana Find - Craig A Burns. Some Rare Coins of Kshatrapas and Ballabhi Kings - L C Gupta.

A Rare Coin of Sultan Sams-ud-Duniya Wa’D Din Mahmud Shah of Delhi - Manik Lal Gupta.

Note on a Silver Rupee of Ala-ud-Din Firoz Shah of Bengal - Smaran Das. Chatgawn: Medieval Mint Town of Bengal - Murtaja Baseer. Dharma Manikya, an unknown King of Tripura - Jahar Acharjee. The Haflong Hoard - S K Bose. Copper Coins with Kannada Numerals - A V Narasimha Murthy.

Sikh Coins and Medieval Gurmukhi Literature of Punjab during the Misl Period (1751 - 1799) - Raijasbir Singh. The Paper Money or the Emergency Currency of Jaisalmir State - - H B Maheshwari. Some Observations on the Hermaios - Kalliope Type - P Srivastava. Some Observations on the Chronology of Bhadras and Mitras in Vidarbha - A Nath. The Evolution of Kushana Title - T P Verma. The Kshatrapa Coins found from the Deonimori excavations. A Review - Nisar Ahmad. Inscribed Vishnukunti Coins. A Review - S J Manglam. The Maharathi Coins of Karnatika - Nisar Ahmad. Numismatic Data in the Inscriptions of Tiruppalaivanam - P Sumbala. Phallic Symbol on Early Indian Coins - G S Bandypadhyaya. The Problematic Coimage under Harsha as Media of Exchange - 5 K Srivastava. Epigraphical Data on the Chola Coins at Srirangam - B Chari. Akbar and his Rama-Siya Coins - T P Verma. Coinage of Northern HinduState Kangra during Muslim Rule - G Srivastava. The Accession Year of Deva Manikya of Tripura - N G Rhodes. Role of Coin in Agrarian Economy of Northern India during Pre-Mauryan and Mauryan Age - A K Banerjee. Study of Gold and Copper Coins using non-destructive Techniques - B S Rao and others. A Mauryan Seal from Tripuri - V Mishra. Some Seals Sealing and Repoussé Gold from Malhar - L S Nigam and R K Singh. A Unique Seal of Early Medieval Bengal - S Kundu. Joint Coin Types of Ancient India - P Srivastava. — JNSI Vol 1111 Parts 1 and 2

Numismatics: Its Historical and Scientific Context - Prof L Gopal. South Indian Numismatics with Special Reference to Tamil Nadu - Prof. K V Raman. A Unique Copper Cast Coin from Chandraketugarh - Dr G 5 De.

Some Copper and Brass Coins from Eran - L C Gupta. Portrait Coins of Satavahanas: A Reappraisal - B K Sahay. Sebaka Coins from Kotalinala - Dr D Raja Reddy and P 5 Reddy. Archeological Significance of Coins unearthed at Veerapuram -M Kasturi Bai. Satavahana Coins from Chebrolu - Dr D Raja Reddy and P 5 Reddy. Kuninda Coins from Athoor, Tehri Garhwal Central Himalaya - Prof K P Nautiyal and Dr B M Khanduri. Oblong Copper Coin with Mother Goddess symbol from Karur - R Krishnamurthy. Two more Pallava Coins with Legends - R Krishnamurthy. Ancient Chera Coin Found (Globule) - V I Ramasamy. Some Lichchhavi Coins of Manadeva and Ansvarma - LC Gupta. Nasirabad: An unknown Mint of Bengal - 5 Das and D Paul. A Fresh Note on the Coin of Sultan Sikander Shah - M Baseer Five Kori Coins of Kutch State - A Study - T N Badya. A Note on Amoghabhuti - Dr D Handa. The Coinage of Ancient Marathwada - Dr R S Morwanchikar The Abhira Coinage and Chronology - Dr 115 Thosar. Chandragupta - Kumardevi Type of the Gupta Coinage. An Examination of Arguments of Allan and Altekar on the question of its Issuer - Dr N Ahmad.

Samudragupta: An Examination of Epigraphic and Numismatic Sources - T P Verma. Pandya Coin: A Fresh Look - Dr P Sumabala. Notes on Repoussé Coins - T P Verma. Barter System in early Indian Economy - Prof. B Chatterjee.

Trade and Currency of Medieval Nagas - S K Bose. Reflections of Private Coin Minting in Medieval South India - Dr 5 J Mangalam. Yaksha Yakshini on Early Indian Coins - Prof P Jash. Religious Significance of Kushana Coinage - Prof P Jash. Early Iconographic Development of Vishnu on Coins - B Chatterjee. Husain Shah’s Conquest of Kamata and Kamarupa - Dr N Ahmad. Dasama Grath and Coinage under Aurangzeb - R Singh. A Seal Matrix from Kaundinyapura - C Gupta. A Study of Ancient Punch-marked Silver Coins - B 5 Rao and M V Nair. Chemical Composition of some Copper Coins from Jaunpur Hoard - Dr B Chakravarty

$=$ Details of the contents of Numismatic Studies (Volume 2) edited by Devendra Handa, and mentioned in the last Newsletter, have

been received and are as follows: Epigraphical and Numismatic Data on Kuras - I K Sarma Coins from Eran Excavation: A Chronological Analysis - K D Bajpai Monetary System in Bengal (up to c. AD 1200): The Present State of Research - 8 N Mukherjee Some Interesting Coins from Madhya Pradhesh - R D Bhatt The Square Copper Vemaka Coin - Devendra Handa Yaksha Yakshini on Early Indian Coins - P Ranabananda Jash. Some Rare Pre-Satavahana Coins of the Deccan - Dr D Raja Reddy and P S Reddy. A Unique Coin of Isamahisa - Shobhana Gokhale Some More New Satavahana Coins - Dr D Raja Reddy and P 5 Reddy. Sopara Coin of Gautamiputra Yajna Satakarni and its Bearing on the Naneghat Inscription of the Reign of Vasishthiputra Satakarni; Year 13 - C Gupta An Inventory of Dates Known on the Coins and Inscriptions of the Western Kshatrapas - D Rajgor The Prakasaditya Problem: A Reappraisal - Ashvini Agrawal Gupta Coin Moulds: Forgery or Trade Compulsions? - Manmohan Kumar Early Tamil Economy and Currency System - Ajay Mitra Shastri Two New Mughal Mints - Sheetal Bhatt The Most Controversial Sikh Coin - Surinder Singh A New Type of Temple Token - Munish Arya

Papers are currently being invited for Volume 3 of this publication. The aim is to broaden its scope by including papers on

monetary systems, trade, commerce and economic conditions as well as scientific, technical statistical and computer studies. Devendra Handa, the editor can be contacted at the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archeology, Punjab University, Chandigarh - 160 014, India.

The All India Educational Supply Co., Sri Ram Building, Jawahar Nagar, Post Box No. 2147, Delhi - 110 007 India, can supply a wide range of maps on present day India as well as a series of 26 historical maps of India from the Vedic period to 1991. The series has been edited by Dr P L Gupta. The historical maps cost US$16 each, or US$400 for the set of 26.

Published by the same company is a set of 23 charts on Indian paleography. This series, also edited by Dr P L Gupta,

comprises: 6 charts on ancient Indian paleography. 2 charts on ancient Indian numerals. 3 charts on Indian alphabets abroad.

8 charts on medieval Indian paleography. 4 charts on modern Indian scripts and alphabets. A chronology of South Asia (3rd century BC to 1990 AD).

Each chart is 75 x 100cms and can be supplied either mounted on cloth with rollers, or in booklet form also mounted on cloth. Price US$16 per chart, or US$360 for the set of 23 charts. Monetary System in the Bengal Presidency 1757 - 1835 by Debendra Byoy Mitra, Calcutta, 1991, 249 pages. Ind. Rs 200. Greco-Indica: India’s Cultural Contacts with the Greek World, edited by U P Arora, New Delhi, 1991, 295 pages. Ind. Rs 650 or US$43.

Medieval Bihar: Sultanate and Mughal Period by S H Askan, Patna, 1990, 208 pages. Ind Rs 120 or US$8. The above three books are available from the Indian Books Centre 40/5 Shakti Nagar, Delhi - 110 007 India.

The following items have appeared in recent issues of the Spink Numismatic Circular: March 1992 - An Ottoman Kurus with an early State Control Mark from Holland by K M Mackenzie. May 1992 - The Numismatics of the Yemen of the 10th/16th Century by Samuel Lachman (continued in the June issue). June 1992 - Adan as the Mint Place During an Ottoman Period by Vladimir Suchy; Some New Varieties of Andhra Coins by S D Godbole July 1992 - An Unknown Dirhem of Sultan Suleiman I from Yemen by Vladimir Suchy; The Numismatics of the Yemen of the

10th/16th Century by Samuel Lachman.; An 18th Century Ottoman Tughra on a Byzantine Nomisma by K M Mackenzie.

Lists Received (i) Stephen Album: Lists 85, 86, 87 and 88. (ii) William B Warden, Jr., Ancient and Islamic Coins, Fixed Price List No 21, a list of Roman, Roman Provincial, Sasanian, ArabSasanian, Islamic and Indian coins, and List No. 22. (iii) Monica Tye (Loch Eynort, South Uist, Western Isles, PA81 5ST, UK): List No 8. A wide range of coins from ancient Europe, ancient Persia, medieval Europe and oriental. iv) Persic Gallery (P O Box 10317, Torrance, Ca 90505, USA): List No. 31. Work in Progress

Dr Lutz Ilisch, at the Forschungsstelle fiir Islamische Numismatik, University of Tiibingen, Germany, is working on Sylloge Nummorum Arabicorum: Filastin. - Steve Album is working on the Coinage of the Muzaffarids in Iran in the 14th century.

A Catalogue of Sycee in the British Museum, Chinese Silver Currency Ingots, c. 1750 - 1933 by Joe Cribb Published by the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Press, publication date 7th September, 1992. Provisional price £95, available from British Museum Publications, 46 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3QQ 276 x 219mm, pages, 71 b/w plates.

Sycee, the silver ingot money of Qing dynasty China (1644-1911), was one of the most remarkable forms of money ever developed. For almost three hundred years China’s monetary system was dominated by the use of the privately produced silver ingots. Sycee came into being during the eighteenth century as China’s economy was transformed by the flood of silver from the Spanish mines of central

and South America. It developed directly out of the long established Chinese tradition of using silver ingots for large scale payments,

a practice originating during the Tang period (AD 618 - 907).

In this catalogue Joe Cribb, Curator of Far Eastern and South Asian coins at the British Museum has developed a new classification of the sycee ingots which demonstrates the system by which they were produced and used. The catalogue shows how a nationwide network of silversmiths, bankers and other specialists in handling money were able to operate this unofficial currency

through a series of locally defined conventions dictating the shape, size, fineness and weight standard of the ingots made and used in each part of China. Even though the ingots were made to pay local taxes, their production and circulation remained outside official control until their withdrawal from use in 1933.

This catalogue presents detailed descriptions of the 1300 examples of silver sycee ingots used as money in China during the period c.1750 - 1933. Based on the British Museum collection, which has as its centre piece the famous Eduard Kann collection, the catalogue also includes material from published sources, sale catalogues and private and public collections around the world. Each ingot is described in full with a transcription of its inscription in full form Chinese characters, together with a romanised and translated version. All place names mentioned in the inscription are fully identified, and dates are provided with their western equivalents. The details of weight (in Chinese ounces and grams) and dimensions and location or source are also given. 388 ingots are illustrated on 71 plates.

The ingots are listed according to a newly developed classification system, which has identified 92 different classes among the ingots listed and divided them into 272 varieties. This classification has been developed in order to reveal the system by which the ingots were made and used. It uses the distinguishing features of shape, manufacturing technique, size and inscription arrangement and content, the characteristics given to the ingots by their manufacturers to make them recognisable as the products of a specific region. At the same time the catalogue also enables new ingots to be readily identified, even by those who have no knowledge of the Chinese language. A series of charts sets out the principles of the classification system. The illustrated examples in the plates have been selected to show at least one example of each variety, with two views of each ingot, showing its shape and inscriptions.

As well as the full transcription of the ingot inscriptions and names in Chinese, the catalogue also has a preface in Chinese summarising and explaining its contents and how it is to be used. The catalogue entries are laid out according to a formula which will enable it to be consulted by users with only a rudimentary knowledge of English.

The catalogue listing is preceded by a series of introductory sections which present an account of the history of sycee ingots and the system by which they were used, an an explanation of the structure and use of the catalogue. The catalogue is followed by appendices detailing particular aspects of the subject and listing the sources of the material in the catalogue. They are followed by indices of inscriptions and general topics. For easy consultation the plates are placed at the end of the volume. Introduction: 1. Foreword

An outline of the history of the British Museum collection of sycee ingots. 2. The origins and Development of the Chinese Silver Currency Ingot System.

After a brief history of the role of silver in the Chinese currency since the Han period (206BC - AD 220), this section presents an account of the monetary and financial reason for the development of the ingot system. 3. Making Ingots

From two eyewitness accounts and a study of the physical characteristics of the ingots themselves a detailed reconstruction 5 presented of the methods and techniques used in casting and inscribing ingots. Contemporary photographs of ingots being made are also included. 4. Inscriptions

The inscriptions put on ingots at the time of manufacture and while they were in circulation are categorised and explained. — Class XXXI. E, no 341

2 ounce ingot of the Russo-Chinese Bank, Tianjin, 1895-c.1910 Class XLIV. A, no 734

10 ounce square trough ingot, Jiangxi Province, 1874 Class XLII. E, no 564

5 ounce mound ingot, Zhejiang Province, c.1850 Class XIII. C, no 96

50 ounce Maritime Customs ingot, Hubei Province, 1911 5. The Use of Ingots

Contemporary sources have been assembled to give an overview of the use of ingots in everyday payments. Special attention is paid to the use of money of account, weighing, cutting and assaying. These combine to show how traders, bankers, officials and individuals ‘were able to maintain a practical system for the use of the ingots. 6. Ingot Names

This presents the contemporary names of ingots in province tables which provide cross references to the classes of ingots in the catalogue. 7. Catalogue Structure

The classification system is explained and demonstrated through a set of tables. The main ingot shapes are described and discussed. 8. Numerals and Dates tables.

As an aid to users who do not know Chinese, the numerals and dates found on the ingots are explained, with examples and 9. Transliteration and Pronunciation

The pinyin system used to romanise the Chinese inscriptions on the ingots is briefly explained. 10. Catalogue Conventions

The conventions adopted in the catalogue listing are explained, and the components of each entry are outlined. Class LXXXIX. A, no 1270 Class LXVI. B, no 739 6.47 ounce mint-bar, Shanghai Mint, 1934.

5.5 ounce three-stamp remittance ingot, Yunnan Province, 1883 Appendices: - Forgeries

This appendix is intended to alert users of the catalogue to the existence of imitation ingots. After a discussion of the many reasons why such copies have been made, a group of 47 forgeries of a type which has become widely distributed and is difficult to detect is described in detail. A small group of seven invented types is also listed. Il. Hoards

Seven hoards containing ingots are described and discussed. The material from them is included in the catalogue listing.

Metallurgy (by M Cowell, British Museum Laboratory)

Sixty ingots were tested for their fineness and metal content by the X-ray fluorescence method. The results of these analyses

are published and discussed. Comment is also made on the technical details in the eyewitness accounts of casting ingots (see Introduction section 3) and on the metallurgical characteristics of the castings and setting techniques used in making the ingots. IV. Sycee at the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank

Contemporary reports on the handling of silver ingots in the mainland branches of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation are reproduced. A glossary explains the pidgin English terms used in these reports. - Paper Sycee

A brief account of the issue of paper money denominated in silver ingots is presented, together with illustrated examples of the notes of the different types of institutions responsible for their issue. VI. Collection Concordance

The public and private collections represented in the catalogue are listed with cross references to the catalogue. VII. Publication Concordance

The references to material in the catalogue which have been published before are given, with cross references to the catalogue. VIII. Bibliography A full bibliography of all the sources used. Author’s summary.

A rare Islamic coin of Valencia: again - - David J Wasserstein

In ONS Newsletter 131 (November 1991-January 1992), Michael Broome published “A Rare Islamic Coin of Valencia’. Here he made known a dirhem of Valencia by the Dhu al-Nunid Yahya al-Ma’mun following his takeover of that city from ‘Abd al-Malik b. ‘Abd alAziz Ibn Abi ‘Amir. Broome dated his specimen to 457/1064-65, but he pointed out that a) that the date could equally be read as 459;

and b) that ‘a crack in the flan passes right through the crucial digit.’ He is of course obviously quite right in saying that sab’, in the (undotted) script used on these coins, could equally be read as tis’; and the crack actually makes little or no difference here. His choice of reading sab’ rather than fis, derived from historical rather than purely numismatic considerations. In this note I want to suggest that we should in fact read fis’ on this specimen. Like Broome, I recognise that from a numismatic point of view we may read either sab or tis, but on the basis of the historical and historiographical context - to which some numismatic considerations can be added it seems to me that the later date is preferable. The issue is of broader significance than simply for the date of this single specimen: Broome points out at the end of his article that there may be implications for the date of gold fractional dinars of this ruler bearing the same title as appears on this coin.

Broome suggests that since the capture of Valencia occurred in 457, the coin could be either of this year, or of 459. He plumps, however, for the earlier date on the ground that ‘it seems more likely that [Yahya] struck coins in Valencia in the year of its conquest rather than delay for two years before announcing the victory with a coin.’ He suggests that the title appearing on the coin “Dhu alMajdayn (= He of the Two Glories) might reflect Yahya’s control of both Toledo and Valencia. Unfortunately for this otherwise neat theory, we have records of coins minted by this ruler before his conquest of Valencia on which this very title appears: Vives no 1101, mint Toledo 448 AH. (Vives owned a specimen, there was one in the Museo Arqueolégico Nacional, in Madrid, and a third was in the Academia de la Historia, also in Madrid (Prieto no 336). This means that the appearance of this title on Valencian coins cannot reflect

the new situation arising from Yahya’s conquest of Valencia in 457. And in respect of Broome’s point about delaying for two years before minting coin, we also have evidence from the year following the conquest, 458 (Vives no. 1104, with reading corrected from p.552 = Prieto no 341. Where is this specimen now? It was in 1893 in the collection of Soret). There is also earlier material (see below).

This still does not tell us when the coin was struck. However, a number of arguments come together to suggest that it was struck in 459/ 1066-67. The first is historical. Valencia was taken in 457 on 8 Dhu al Hijja (see the Arabic sources cited in Wasserstein, p.97 n.36). This is only some three weeks from the end of the year. It is possible, but unlikely that coins should have

been minted in those three weeks, and survived to tell the tale. It is in fact the case that some material was so minted, and a little of it

has survived (see below). But as will be seen it does not support Broome’s theory.

Broome further argues that ‘the quality of the engraving of the reverse and the fact that this specimen is made from relatively high grade silver points to this being a coin specially minted to celebrate Ma’mun’s capture of the city’. But the only feature of possible relevance in the inscriptions on the coin is the use of the title Dhu al-Majdayn; as has now been seen, there is nothing in this title that announces anything like a capture. Inscriptions are principally what would have announced such an event to contemporaries, not a rushed (only three weeks of the year remained following the conquest), if for all that well engraved (though only on one side) issue of relatively high grade silver without any expression in words of the reason for celebration. If the coin does not ‘celebrate Ma’mun’s capture of the city’, then it is merely a normal issue, for normal monetary purpose, and could be equally of 459.

The third aspect of this argument is stylistic and relates to the inscriptions and decorations on the coin. The obverse inscription of Broome’s coin is al-hajib / la ilaha illa allah / sharaf al-dawla. The reverse reads al-ma’mun / dhu al-majdayn with an arabesque below. The coin is therefore similar to the coins of 459 listed by Miles, nos. 520-21, which alone of the published catalogues lists decorations and contains relevant illustrations. Comparison of Broome’s illustration with Miles 521 (plate XIII) suggests that we may have here an example of die pairing, at least for one side of the coins. The arabesques on the two specimens, in particular, show a remarkable degree of similarity. Reliably dated specimens of 457 and 458 are also known - Vives nos 1102 and

The inscriptions on these are different from those on Broome’s specimen and on the others dated 459. The specimen of 1102, (which was in Vives’ own collection; is it now in the Museo Arqueolégico Nacional?) names Ibn Aghlab (which, together with the reading of the date on the coin, seems, for reasons which are not relevant here, to tie it securely to 457/ 1064-65), and the unique specimen of Vives no 1104, once in Soret’s collection, had the titles distributed in different positions on the two sides of the coin. Broome’s specimen, on the other hand, fits perfectly from the points of view of the inscriptions, of their distribution and of decoration alike, into a series running from 459/ 1066-67 through to 462/ 1069-70 (see Vices nos. 1105-07, Prieto nos 342a - c). It therefore seems reasonable to place Broome’s specimen in this series and to see it as an additional specimen of the year 459/ 106667. This by no means deprives it of importance, for although Vives listed seven specimens of this type in 1893, only two of these, one in Paris and one in the Madrid Academia de la Historia are now known. Two more were in Gayangos’ collection, one was in that of Codera, and two were owned by Vives himself. No certain locations are known for any of these five today. Of the two now in the American Numismatic Society (Miles nos 520-21), one, no. 520, might be one of the five; the other comes from the famous Newell hoard. Broome’s specimen certainly serves to deepen and solidify our scanty knowledge and understanding of the development of Dhu al-Nunid minting in the city of Valencia in the middle of the 11th century AD (see more generally, Wasserstein). Unfortunately, the dating of the gold fractional dinars referred to by Broome remains unaffected by this specimen. References G C Miles, Coins of the Spanish Muluk al-Tawa’if. New York (ANS Hispanic Numismatic Series monograph no III), 1954. A Prieto y Vives, Los Reyes de Taifas. Estudio historico de los musulmanes espafioles en el siglo V de la hégira (XI de JC), Madrid, 1893. D Wasserstein, The Rise and Fall of the Party Kings, Politics and Society in Islamic Spain, 1002-1086, Princeton, 1985.

Three New Ottoman Akces - - Omer Diler

Mustafa II ascended the throne twice, the first time in 1026H. Coins with this date are quite rare. Apart from the two Madini (Amid and Misr) and a Dimashq ak¢e, no others have been published. Below is a new addition to this group: Edirne 1026

sultan [‘azza nasrahu Mustafa b. duJriba Muhammad kha[n] Edirne 1026 12mm _ 0.30gr.

Between the years 1012 and 1058, the Ottomans used a special design of akge die in Egypt. Below is an ak¢e of this same design, but with the mint name Qustantiniyya in the name of sultan Ibrahim.

r Centre: Ibra[im b.] el ads Khall{ada mulkahu] Margin: - sultan [Ahmad khan duriba ‘azza] nasrahu Qustantiniyya 13mm 0.30gm

3 The Ottomans ceased to strike classical akges when they started machine-minting during the reign of Sulayman II. Hence, the final date of these classical akges is 1058. The akge below, however, is dated 1099, Qustantiniyya in the name of Sulayman II. In my opinion such akces were struck during the first days of his reign, but were withdrawn from circulation when machine-minting commenced.

sultan ‘azza nasrahu Sulayman b. duriba [Ibra]Jhim khan Qustantiniyya llmm 0.20 gr.

An Early Countermark of Babur - - Robert C Grossman

This coin! was offered to me at the New York International Numismatic Convention a few years ago. The seller identified it as a tanka of the Timurid Sultan Husain Baigara (873-911) with the countermark “Muhammad”. As the countermark was completely unknown to me, and the price reasonable, I purchased it. A colleague speculated that the countermark might be that of Muhammad b. Yusuf, an Aq Qoyunlu prince who reigned in Fars and Isfahan, and briefly in Tabriz, between 903 and 9052. Closer examination revealed the date 903, which would be consistent with such an attribution. However, we both had doubts. For one, the calligraphy of the countermark was in an uncommonly elegant Thuluth, a style characterised by tall, slightly left leaning verticals, deeply curved horizontals, and hooked terminals, and so did not ‘look’ Aq Qoyunlu. For another, the coin was struck in Tun, a town of no great consequence in Quhistan, on the opposite side of the Great Desert, and thus remote from Muhammad ben Yusuf’s dominions and the trade routes leading to them. Lastly, the coin appeared to have been cleaned, toned and polished in the Indian manner, with artificially blackened fields and contrasting bright letters, suggesting that it had been unearthed to the east of Iran.

As soon as I returned home I began to search the literature for another Muhammad who might have ruled in 903, and came upon the following words of Muhammad Haidar:….Babar Padishah…was born on the 6th of Moharram of the year 888. Maulana Munir Marghinani, one of the Ulamas of Ulugh Beg Mirza….blessed him with the name of Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad.

At that time the Chaghatai were very rude and uncultured….thus they found Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad difficult to pronounce, and for this reason gave him the name of Babar’.

With this text in mind, I re-examined the countermark and was able to read the words ‘al-Din’ at the bottom. I also observed a vertical to the to the nght in the correct position to be the upper part of the Z in ‘Zahir’. The full inscription could then be read as Adl Sultan Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad Bahadur 903. In 903 Babur was only 15 years old and just beginning his triumphant career. It is not unlikely that his Chaghatai nickname was not yet deemed to be of sufficient dignity to be incorporated into his official nomenclature. The coining of silver in Timurid Central Asia was normally restricted to a very limited number of places. In the time of Babur these were Samarqand, Bukhara and Hisar. Babur was engaged in continuous siege operations against Samarqand for the seven months preceding his occupation of the city. In November 1497:…on one of the last ten days of the first Rabi’ (903)…we entered the citadel and dismounted at the Bu-stan Sarai. Thus, by God’s favour, were the town and country of Samarqand taken and occupied?.

He withdrew in February-March, 1498, and spent the next two years ‘living the unsettled life of a fugitive’.© It is exceedingly unlikely that Babur would have had any opportunity to strike coins either immediately before or immediately after his occupation of Samarqand. Since he was not then in possession of either Bukhara or Hisar, Samarqand must have been the place, and the ‘hundred days’ of his rule there the time, of minting.

I have found only one published reference to this countermark: G P Hennequin illustrates an example with the ‘Zahir’ showing clearly, but without a legible date, and so he attributes it to the period of Babur’s reign in India from 932 to 9377 A collector in Pakistan has written to me to say that he too has one with a clear ‘Zahir’, but lacking a readable date. He reports that the British Museum has several examples, on one of which the position of the words ‘sultan’ and ‘Muhammad’ are reversed. There are specimens in the collections of the American Numismatic Society (inventory no. 1952. 23. 13) and the University of Tiibingen. However, until now, the significance of this countermark has not been appreciated: that it is the first coin of Babur, and thus the inaugural issue of the Mughal series. Notes

1 Weight 4.66 grams: diameter 22-24mm 2 Woods, John E. The Aq Qoyunlu: Clan Confederation, Empire. Bibliotheca Islamica, Minneapolis & Chicago, 1976. pp 170-72.

3 Zakariya, Muhammad U. The Calligraphy of Islam: Reflections on the State of the Art. Georgetown University, Washinton DC., 1979. p.23. 4 Ross, E Denison, Trans., A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia, being the Tarikh-I-Rashidi of Mirza Muhammad Haidar, Doghlat. Barnes and Noble. New York. p.173

5 Beveridge, Annette S. Babur-Nama. Sange-Meel Publications, Lahore, 1975. p.89. 6 Erskine, William. A History of India Under Babur. Oxford University Press, Karachi, 1974. p.115. 7G P Hennequin. Monnaies Timurides d’une Collection Particulaire - Annales Islamologiques, XXI 1985, p.207.

King Otannes Passes Away Aged 92 -_ R C Senior In the Numismatic Chronicle for 1900, W Wroth published a Parthian coins with a countermark bearing a head, around which he read the name OTANNHC. He substantiated this reading by showing that the Persian name Otanes was used at this time and in succeeding centuries. Despite better specimens showing the correct lettering this reading has been accepted by subsequent writers such as D Sellwood, M Mitchiner and M Alram. What I wish to show in this article is the correct reading and its associations with another series of coins and their approximate time of issue.

Fig. A shows the full countermark and correct reading. The name is TANLES. Where Wroth went wrong was in thinking that

the tassle or bob on the cap was the letter O. The middle letters are often off the coin and his reconstruction was inaccurate. As to when the countermark was used, I suggest a period of c 60 to 35BC for the following reasons:

The commonest coins appearing with this countermark have a portrait on the obverse (of the undertype) of the king wearing a tiara,

see illustrations 1 - 5. These coins were issued between c. 9SBC to 57BC, yet none of the other issues of this period of types or kings without tiara have surfaced with this countermark. This suggests that the overstriker was looking for coins of the current king, with which he would be familiar, to make current in his area, and those coins bore the portrait of the king wearing a tiara. This would be

Phraates III’s last issue. The striker was almost certainly unable to distinguish the legends on the respective reverses of issues 1 - 5 as shown.

TAKAIC 7147 5 56

FIG.8,

The next issue comes under Orodes II (57-38BC), see ill. 6 and finally an early issue of Phraates [TV (38 -2 BC) ill. 7. The last coin determines the end of the period of countermarking and I would suggest that if the countermark was applied only in these last two reigns and to all coins in circulation, then we would have examples of almost all coins issued from the time of Mithradates II (illustr. 1). I list below all the coins in my collection, or which 1 have handled, that have this countermark, with Sellwood attributions.
Mithradates 11 (123-88BC) 5.28/5 Illustr. 1 2. Gotarzes (95-90BC) 5.33.4 IIlustr. 2 3. Orodes $(90-80BC) 5.31.6, $31.9 Illustr. 3$ 4. Phraates 111 (70-57BC) S.39.4/6/7/8 Illustr. 4 & 5 5. Orodes II (57-38BC) S.47.9/32 Illustr. 6 6. Phraates IV (38-2BC) 5.54.8 Illustr. 7

Illustrations 8 - 12 are of coins issued by an independent king and his queen in what is now Afghanistan that are closely related

to the above countermarks. The king is TANLIS MARDATES (fig. B). My reading differs from that of some previous authors, but the name is quite clear on my specimens and is.also separated, as I have given it, into two words. Mardates may be a title. The issuer is probably the same person who authorised the previous countermark. These coins are often base and would seem to fall in the period of

the middle of Phraates IV’s reign when the regular Parthian coinage also became debased in the eastern provinces. Some of these coins

are also countermarked and one such, the basest coin of the series, has corrupt (Pahlevi/Aramaic?) legends and is probably the latest issue of King Tanlis. The countermark, a head to the right (Fig. C) always occurs on the reverse of the coin with female bust right (ill.

9, 10, 12) bearing the title in Greek of ‘The Lady Raggodeme’. The countermark has the legend *TANLIS….’, the last part being unclear. It may read TANLIS YIOY, but a clearer specimen is required to confirm this. As it is unlikely that Tanlis would have countermarked his own coins it seems probable that the countermarking would have been done by his son. The final issue may be as late as the early decades AD.

In summary then, we can eliminate Otannes from numismatic history and substitute the first issue of Tanlis c. 60-35 BC. Tanlis then issues coins in his own name and that of his queen which is subsequently countermarked by his son? This fanciful

reconstruction fits the facts quite well and I would be pleased to receive suggestions and photographs of any_other coins that may shed light on this coinage.

A Rare Ujjain Coin - - W H Pieper

During the 2nd century BC the ancient Indian city of Ujjain saw the emission of a series of attractive die-struck copper coins. Who struck the coins is by no means certain - either local governors of the Sunga overlords or independent Ujjain rulers? It is also not quite sure when the Ujjain coin issues started, though it came to an end when the Satavahanas incorporated Malwa into their empire.

The coins which have survived the centuries are a beautiful documentation of India’s cultural heritage. Ujjain was one of the most famous cities of ancient India and centuries BC it was already a centre of art, religion and science. It had a well known university and was famous for its highly developed astronomy..

The coin types of Ujjain are many and in many collections there are hitherto unpublished specimens. What is clearly needed is a new catalogue of Ujjain coinage. The coin I present is an unusually heavy thick, square copper piece purchased some years ago. At 15.3 grammes it seems to the the first known Ujjain coin of this weight range - a good double copper karshapana! To my knowledge it is unique and unpublished. It is die struck and measures 25 x 20mm. The state of preservation is good and only a spot of incrustation above the bull makes this part of the obverse not fully visible.

Obv. In centre a railed tree, to left, a bull r.; to r., a human figure stg. front, arms at sides, holding in his left hand an uncertain object; taurine symbols in field; below, fish in symbolic river. a Rev. ‘Ujjain’ symbol. At the end of each of its four arms there are two concentric circles, between each of these arms there is another arm bearing a taurine symbol.

A Note on the Coins of Ganapati Naga

- Bob Forrest a Cunningham, in Coins of Medieval India (p.24) asserts that this kings issued his small copper coins in three denominations - the kakini of 36 grains, the half-kakini of 18 grains, and the quarter-kakini of 9 grains. Trivedi, in Catalogue of the Coins of the Naga

Kings of Padmavati (p.xxx-xxxi) finds the same denominations plus two others: the eighth-kakini and sixteenth-kakini. He further complicates the picture by postulating more than one weight standard, a heavy kakini and a light kakini!

At the suggestion of Robert Tye, I weighed a random sample of 500 of these coins taken from a hoard. The results were as follows: — اسم 9

6o ] Fie. ). p £- kaka

:	١
\|dL
nl
° 2 th 00 1 in wa Ly Leo Lg 2.0 22 ج12‎ 26
2	.٠

Weight (gm) 0.2-0.3 0.3-0.4 0.4-0.5 0.5-0.6 -0.6-0.7 0.7-0.8 0.8-0.9 Frequency

Weight (gm) 0.9-1.0 1.0-1.1 1.1-1.2 1.2-1.3 1.3-1.4 1.4-1.5 1.5-1.6 Frequency

Weight (gm) 1.6-1.7 1.7-1.8 1.8-1.9 1.9-2.0 2.0-2.1 21-2 2.2-2.3 Frequency

Weight (gm) - 2.3-2.4 2.4-2.5 2.5-2.6 264.7 Frequency

The nature of the distribution is most clearly seen in the accompanying histogram (fig. 1). If Cunningham is correct, any histogram ought to have well defined peaks centred on 2.33 grams ( a 36 grain kakini), 1.17 grams ( an 18 grain half-kakini) and 0.58 grams (a 9 grain quarter-kakini). There are no such peaks and the form of the histogram makes it immediately obvious that here there is no evidence at all for the 36 grain kakini and its binary subdivisions.

Trivedi’s extension of Cunninghams’s system is even more suspect. His heavier standard kakini of 52.96 to 61.4 grains (3.43

to 3.98 grams) is totally unrepresented in this sample of 500, and his heavy-standard half-kakini of 26.84 grains (1.74 grams) in not represented by a peak in the histogram, but this is all that can be said, for the 5.40 grains (0.35) grams eighth-kakini and 2.16 grains (0.14 grams) sixteenth-kakini totally fail to show up as denomination peaks.

To drive the point home, if Cunningham’s denominations were a reality we should expect a histogram somewhat like fig. 2, though declining weight standards over a period of years might blur this idealised picture. However, be that as it may, one would not expect fig. 1!

Indeed my first reaction on tipping out the 500 coins on the table, before any weighing took place, was that here was a numismatic ‘mess’, a chaotic graduation from very small coins to relatively big ones, with no immediate evidence of a well defined

1:2:4 system at all. Put simply, faced with these coins, how on earth could anyone tell their kakini from their half-kakini with any degree of certainty?

In fact, it puzzles me how Cunningham and Trivedi ever saw denominations there in the first place. I can only assume that it was by the selective raking over of a limited number of specimens. If so, surely here is a lesson for the future.

There are various ways one can interpret the form of fig. 1, but it seems to me fairly likely that a) there is only one denomination here; b) that its weight was only very loosely controlled; and that c) there was probably a decline in the average weight over a period of many years. (I should add that these conclusions confirm views express to me by Robert Type before the weighings were done, so I claim no originality here.)

Clause b) is troubling, of course, in that such loose weight control would seem to invite fraud: one large coin could be melted down to make two or even three small coins of the same denomination, thus doubling or trebling one’s money. But then if these coins were ‘small change’ perhaps it wasn’t worth anyone’s trouble. Another possible explanation is that these coins were used in transactions by the bag-full, the value being proportional to the weight of the bag. Melting down larger coins to make many more smaller ones would not then be profitable, as the total weight, and therefore value, would stay the same. However, there is no evidence whatever that these coins were transacted in this way, and the idea is purely speculative.

Enigmatic Copper Coins Kenneth MacKenzie has provided information on the copper coins published by Ken Wiggins and myself in Newsletter 132. The coins are Ottoman, from the mint of Misr al Mahrusa and struck during the reign of Selim I. Apparently Edhem attempted a reading in his catalogue of Ottoman coins, nos 1036/37 as did Oman (G) in JESHO v. IX, 1966. An effective summary was provided by Seham el Mahdi in his contribution to the Festschrift presented to [brahim Artuk on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Turkish Numismatic Society (1988) pp 191-199 (and later abridged by Olcer in his book on Selim I (1989) p 171.

Late News

We regret to announce the death of Peter Seaby on 18 July 1992 at the age of 71. 2. The bank account of the UK & Eire Regional Secretary has been changed to Girobank plc, Bootle, Merseyside, GIR OAA, account number 19 316 8308, from Barclays Bank, Crowborough. Members who pay by bank standing order should make the necessary

amendments. 3. The ONS American Region will meet at 5 pm, 12 December 1992, during the New York Numismatic Convention. Guest speaker will

be Dr Lawrence Adams on “The late Kushano-Sasanian gold dinars, and the Kydarite, Chionite and Hephthalite imitations”. All ONS members and guests welcome.

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