Unique Half Mohur

CNG 87, Lot: 1714. Estimate $25000. Sold for $20000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDIA, Mughal Empire. Shihab al-Din Muhammad Shah Jahan. 1627-1658. AV Half Mohur (17mm, 5.55 g, 12h). Nisar issue. Dar-ul-Khilafat (Akbarabad) mint. Dually dated RY 11 and AH 1048 (AD 1638/9). Persian couplet citing Shah Jahan in two lines / Mint and date formula in three lines. Wright -; Hull -; cf. KM 240.2. Good VF, light marks, small repaired area between 11 and 12 o’clock on reverse. Exceptional engraving. Unique.

Born Prince Shihab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram in 1592, Shah Jahan (King of the World) succeeded his father, Jahangir, as emperor in 1627. In addition to continuing the expansionist policies begun by his grandfather, Akbar, Shah Jahan’s reign was also recognized for his conscientious administration and his patronage of the arts–in this he continued the beautiful coin designs of his father, Jahangir. While the construction of the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum constructed for his queen, Mumtaz Mahal, is perhaps the most recognizable legacy of his reign, many other constructions - including the layout of the new Mughal capital at Delhi, with the Lal Qila (Qila-i-Mubarak) there, the renovations at the old capital at Agra, and the building of the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore - reveal his deeply aesthetic interests. For all of Shah Jahan’s abilities, however, his reign ended unhappily for, as he became more and more infirm, a power struggle for the throne arose among his sons. It was Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan’s third son, who emerged victorious in the struggle, and immediately imprisoned his father at Agra. Shah Jahan continued to live for another eight years in this imprisonment until he died. He was then buried in the Taj Mahal beside his queen.