Rare Babur Tanka

262, Lot: 432. Estimate $300. Sold for $750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDIA, Mughal Empire. Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur. As Sultan of Ferghana, 1494-1504. AR Tanka (27mm, 4.77 g, 10h). Countermark at Samarqand mint, with date of AH 903 (AD 1497/8). Album 2463 note; Rahman Cmk 1. VF. Rare.

Although Babur was a direct descendent of the great Mongol rulers Ghengis Khan and Tamerlane (Timur), the realm he inherited upon his father's death in 1494 did not extend beyond the confines of the remote province of Ferghana (Khokand). Being only 11 years old at the time, he quickly lost even that to rivals, and retreated into the mountains with a band of loyal followers to prepare a plan of reconquest; his ultimate ambition being to reclaim the ancestoral throne at Samarkand. In 1497 he briefly held the city for some 100 days, at which time these rare countermarked coins were issued. Babur was never able to retain complete control of Persia, and after a decisive defeat in 1512, he turned his sights to India. Despite his youthful reversals, Babur proved an equal to his illustrious ancestors, crushing the Afghans and Rajputs at the battles of Panipat and Khanua in 1526 and 1527 and leaving his Mongol (Mughal) dynasty as masters of northern India.