Sale: Triton VIII, Lot: 1613. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Monday, 10 January 2005.  Sold For $1800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDIA, Islamic Sultanates. Bengal. Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji, in the name of Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad bin Sam, Dehli sultan. 1204-1206. AV 20 Rati (2.30 gm, 6h). Unknown mint. Dated Samvat 1262 (1204 AD). Horseman riding left, holding up-raised mace; date in Nagari around / Nagari legend citing Muhammad bin Sam; star to left. CIS B3 var (no star); Rajgor 104 var (no star); Mitchiner, Land of Water 151; MWI -. Near VF. Very rare. ($2000)

The Ghurids established a sultanate in the region of Herat in the mid 12th century. Muhammad bin Sam conquered northern India in 1193, and founded a separate dynasty centered at Dehli, which in 1204 embarked on a campaign to conquer the Ganges valley and Bengal. The first coins of the new Bengal sultanate are rare 40 and 20 rati gold pieces, most with Islamic legends, but a few rare pieces exist with Bengal Nagari script.