CNG 97, Lot: 904. Estimate $500. Sold for $1200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

AFGHANISTAN, Durrani Shahs. Shah Shuja' al-Mulk. First reign, AH 1218-1224 / AD 1803-1809. AR Double Rupee (26mm, , 10h). Bahawalpur mint. Dated AH 1218; RY “ahd” (13 July AD 1803-11 April AD 1804). Persian couplet citing name and titles of Shah Shuja' al-Mulk; AH date to lower left / Mint and RY date formula. On edge: hand-cut reeding. SICA 9, 400 (same dies); Album 3121. In NGC encapsulation graded MS 63. Very rare.

One of the sons of Timur Shah Durrani (1772-1793), Shah Shuja' al-Mulk ousted his brother Mahmud Shah in 1803 and ruled as emir of Afghanistan for six years, until he was himself ousted by his brother, Mahmud Shah. In 1809, shortly before he was ousted from power, Shah Shuja' al-Mulk formed an alliance with Britain against a similar Franco-Russian one in order to protect British interests in India. This move was the first step in what subsequently became known as “The Great Game” – Britain’s imperial advance into the Central Asian uplands against the Russian Empire.

Between 1813 and 7 August 1839, when he was returned to the Afghani throne, Shah Shuja' al-Mulk, became increasingly associated with Ranjit Singh, the first maharajah (1801-1839) of the Sikh Empire, and known as “Sher-e-Punjab” (Lion of the Punjab). In 1814, Shah Shuja' al-Mulk gained his freedom from Sikh protection by presenting to Ranjit Singh the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond. By 1838, Shah Shuja' al-Mulk had also gained the assistance of the British in retaking the Afghan throne from Barak.