INDIA, Mughal Empire. Nur al-Din Muhammad Jahangir. AH 1014-1037 / AD 1605-1627. AV Mohur (20mm, 10.63 g, 12h). Portrait type. Ajmer mint. Dually dated AH 1023 (11 February AD 1614-30 January AD 1615) and...

Triton XXVI
Lot: 1068. Estimated: $ 100 000

World, Coin-in-Hand Video, Gold

Sold For $ 170 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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INDIA, Mughal Empire. Nur al-Din Muhammad Jahangir. AH 1014-1037 / AD 1605-1627. AV Mohur (20mm, 10.63 g, 12h). Portrait type. Ajmer mint. Dually dated AH 1023 (11 February AD 1614-30 January AD 1615) and RY 8 (15/24 October 1612 – 14/23 October 1613). ba ruye sikka-e zad dad chanden-e zein wa zewar shabih-e Shah Nur al-Din Jahangir bar Akbar padshah (Upon the gold coin much beauty and ornament the likeness of Shah Nur al-Din Jahangir son of Akbar Padshah) in Persian, radiate Jahangir seated cross-legged left against patterned cushion holding flower; numeral 8 (in eastern Arabic numeral) below sikka-e; legend divided by two roses, each set on arrow / zad ba zar ein dar sikka Ajmer Shah din-e panah Shah Shah Nur al-Din Jahangir bar Akbar Badshah (Struck in gold this coin at Ajmer the Shah shelter of the Faith. Shah Nur al-Din Jahangir son of Akbar Badshah) in Persian, lion recumbent right; radiate sun behind; AH date below; legend divided by two roses, each set on arrow. Liddle Type G-39; BM 318 var. (no RY date); IMC (Wright) –; Hull 1425; KM 179.5; Friedberg 759; Adams III 2397 (same dies, but later strike). Traces of deposits in devices with underlying luster. EF. Very rare and seldom encountered outside museum collections.

Ex Album 18 (16 January 2014), lot 1188.

Between the fifth and seventh years of his reign, the emperor Jahangir issued special gold mohurs which bear his own portrait on the obverse and a lion-and-sun motif on the reverse. According to contemporary historical sources, these special coins were introduced in AH 1020 (AD 1611), and Jahangir ordered that they were to be presented to favoured ministers, servants and eminent visitors to the Mughal court. Jahangir’s own courtiers and attendants were even instructed to wear these coins, prominently displayed on their clothing or on their turban sash, both as a mark of their status and also as a life-preserving amulet. It is therefore unsurprising that surviving examples sometimes exhibit signs of wear and mounting, but being struck to the same weight and fineness as regular mohurs they also fulfilled a monetary function and we can imagine that coins of this type given to visitors to Jahangir’s court might well have ended up in treasuries elsewhere. The piece offered here is a particularly well-preserved example of this beautiful and extremely rare issue.

The final winners of all Triton XXVI lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 10-11 January 2023.

Triton XXVI – Session Four – Lots 991-1315 will be held Wednesday afternoon, 11 January 2023 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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