2019-05-15 Wed

Abbas I (the Great), was the 5th Shah of Safavid Empire from 1588 to 1629 AD. He was a son of Muhammad Khodabandeh and considered as the strongest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. During his reign, the trade with Europe expanded. Isfahan became the capital under him.

It was during his reign gold and silver coins with denomination ‘Abbasi’ were first issued. The other denominations were Shahi, Ashrafi, Mithqal, Mahmudi, Dirham, and Bisti. These coins were struck at various mints such as Ardabil, Astarabad, Baghdad, Farahabad, Isfahan, Hamadan, Mashhad, Qazvin, and Tabriz, etc.

Depicted above is a gold 2 Mithqal which was issued during his reign from Isfahan mint. The obverse of a coin bears the Shiite Kalima ‘La Ilaha Illalahu Muhammadun Nabi-u-Allah Ali Waliullah’ note instead of the normal rasulullah, it is nabi-u-allah on this coin and name of 12 Imams around. The reverse of the coin depicts the name of the ruler with the mint name "be-giti sekke-ye sahib qerani zad as toufiq-e haqq Abbas-e thani zarb Isfahan".

Image Source: Heritage Auctions