MUGHAL ERA COINS

MUGHAL ERA COINS

TOPIC: Art & Culture

Context- A piece of antiquity billed as a rarity — a one-rupee silver coin struck at Kabul mint by Shah Jahan to declare rebellion against his father Jahangir in 1627 — is going under the hammer in Bengaluru on February 26.

Concept-

• The coin has been struck at Kabul in the name of Khurram, the pre-accession name of Shah Jahan.
• The coin was an important aspect in the power struggle between Jahangir and his first son Khurram (Shah Jahan).

Mughal Coinage:

• The standard gold coin of the Mughals was the Mohur.
  • AbulFazl in his ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ indicated that a Mohur was equivalent to nine rupees. Half and quarter mohurs are also known.
• The silver rupee which was an adoption from Sher Shah’s currency, was the most famous of all Mughal coins.
• Akbar issued both round and square coins.
  • In 1579, he issued gold coins called Ilahi coins to propagate his new religious creed ‘Din-i-Illahi’. O
  • n this coin, it was written ‘God is great, may his glory be glorified’.
  • Sahansah was the largest gold coin.
  • These coins bore the names of the persian solar months.
• Jahangir showed the legend in a couplet in the coins. In some of his coins, he added the name of his beloved wife Noorjahan. The most famous of his coins had images of Zodiac signs.
• Shah Jahan continued striking coins in three metals i.e. gold (mohur), silver (rupee) and copper (dam).
  • His pre-accession coins bear the name Khurram.
  • Rare coins were struck in the name of Khurram during the early reign of Shah Jahan in the mints of Lahore and Kabul.