2017-11-15 Wed

This is an extremely rare silver rupee of Burhan Nizam Shah II which weighs around 6.93 g minted at Burhanabad. The obverse of the coin is inscribed with Shia version of Kalima- ‘La Ilaha Illa Allahu Muhammadur Rasulullah Ali Wali Allah’ in Mihrabi style cartouche. While the reverse of the coin is inscribed with portion of Arabic legend which read as ‘Zarb Burhanabad Sanah’ in circle, truncated marginal inscription not fully read but appears to have the name of the ruler Al-Sultan Burhan Nizam Shah clockwise.

This is the first silver coin of Burhan Nizam Shah II to have come to light. It has a very interesting weight which does not fit into any known weight-standards. It is said that the weight for these unique medieval coins was copied from Ottoman issues of Mehmet III from the region of Persian Gulf. It is also a rare instance of the Shia version of the Kalima appearing on an Indian coin. This gives a clear indication of the political alignment of the Deccani Sultans with Iran due to their shared faith of Shiaism.

The calligraphy and design of the coin is strongly influenced by Safavid coinage of Iran and points to the Persian influence that reached the Shia Sultanate of Ahmednagar through the influx of people and trade on the Konkan ports controlled by its rulers. The coin can, therefore, be viewed as an excellent example of cross-cultural and trans-regional influences in numismatics of regional Deccani Sultanates.

This silver coin was sold at INR 1, 40,000 at Classical Numismatic Gallery in an auction held on 15th March 2013.