Sale: Triton IX, Lot: 1686. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Monday, 9 January 2006.  Sold For $1500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDIA. Mughal Empire. Jalal al-Din Akbar.1556-1605. AV Square Mohur (10.83 g, 6h). Bang mint. Dated AH 987 (1579/80 AD). Kalima within dotted square; additional floret between lines / 'Padishah" couplet within dotted square; AH date within, mint below. Wright -; Hull -; BMC -; cf. KM 111.1 (Patna mint). Good VF, small drill mark on obverse. ($2000)

The province of Bengal was ruled by the Sher Shahs as tributaries to the Mughal emperor, but the Bengal sultans raised constant disputes with their overlord Akbar, and finally in 1577 he deposed and exÉcuted Daud and annexed the sultanate. These rare first Mughal mohurs of Bang (Bangala) mark the occupation of a land that was never accepting of Mughal rule, although the new province would prove to be the wealthiest and most fertile of the empire. The expansion of revenue brought about by the acquisition of Bengal necessitated the creation of a new imperial position in 1579, that of diwan, or minister of finance for the provinces. The Diwan served as a sort of Governor-General, responsible for the collection and distribution of funds, reporting directly to the emperor, and would have been in charge of the administration of the increasing number of provincial mints. The Diwan thus controlled the levers of power in the provinces, and became a most influential figure in the imperial court.