2017-01-21 Sat

Nasir Ud din Mahmud Shah (AH 837-864; AD 1434-1459) was a Sultan of Bengal. He was a descendant of the Sultan Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah of Bengal. Bengal Sultanate was a Muslim state; based in the Indian subcontinent on the coast of Bay of Bengal. It was an important power in South and South East Asia.

Nasir Ud Din Mahmud had issued coins in gold and silver; he issued coins in various types and varieties. He had also issued coins with the depiction of chhatra (royal umbrella) on them. Another type of coin he issued is “Seven Circle” type, where the ruler’s name is written in a series of seven circles on the obverse.

One of his gold tanka, minted in Dar al-Darb, weighs around 10.6g was sold for INR 40, 00,000 in Todywalla Auction held in Mumbai on 3rd February 2016. Obverse of the coin bears image of a Lion facing towards right with his paw raised within the circle; and the legend ‘Nasir ud-Duniya wa-ud-din, Abul Muzaffar Mahmud Shah As-Sultan’ written in the margin; And on the reverse ‘Al-Muayyad Ba Tayid Al-Rahman Khalifat Allah ba al hujjat wa al burhan’ with date 849 in the bottom.

To view a similar coin click here.