2016-02-05 Fri

This rare coin minted by Mughal emperor Akbar Adil Shah is one of the most sought-after coins of the world. No wonder it fetched the Stephen Album Rare Coins’ auction house an impressive $41,125, during the auction between January 14th and 16th in the US.

Since the coin is only the third known example for this emperor, it is considered to be extremely rare. Issued by Akbar Adil Shah in 1753, this coin was struck in Allahabad.

In 1753, the Mughal Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur was in conflict with his own wazir or first minister - Safdar Jang after which the latter lost his important position. After the loss of his patronage, he retaliated by raising a boy to the throne, claiming that the boy was the great grandson of Emperor Aurangzeb. This puppet emperor was given the title Akbar Adil Shah (Akbar Shah the Just) and was raised on the throne on 13 May 1753 (AH1166). Safdar Jang was then able to declare himself wazir once more to his own puppet emperor.

Safdar Jang crossed the Yamuna river at Mathura and turned towards Awadh on the 17th November. After reaching Shikohabad and Firozabad on the 22nd, he left the bogus Prince in Agra under the custody of Amar Singh and himself marched to Lucknow. It is still a mystery as to what happened to the puppet emperor after this, but he disappeared from pages of history.

The coin weighs 11.29g and bears the inscription “sikka zad dar jahan ba-fazl alah / shah-i-alam panah akbar shah” on the obverse.

The auction house stated that only the coins of Emperor Nikusiyar are rarer, with only two examples known. These coins were issued from the Akbarabad Mint and have the catalogue number, KM445.