Afghanistan (1754)/8 rupee
This specimen was lot 2167 in Steve Album Auction 55 (Santa Rosa, CA, May 2026), where it sold for $660. The catalog description[1] noted, "DURRANI: Ahmad Shah, 1747-1772, AR rupee, Dera, year 8, obverse has ahmad shah durr-i durran in center cartouche, rest of the couplet around; fine style and very rare mint for this subtype, XF." For the Dera mint, the only rupee mentioned in the SCWC is KM B315, listed for year 9 only and unpriced. Wikipedia comments, "The Durrani Empire (Pashto: د درانيانو ټولواکمني), also called the Sadozai Kingdom and the Afghan Empire, was founded and built by Ahmad Shah Abdali in parts of Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia. At its maximum extent, the empire ruled over the modern-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as parts of northeastern and southeastern Iran, eastern Turkmenistan, and northwestern India."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: 10.7-11.0 g, silver, this specimen 11.55 g.
Catalog reference: A-3092, KM B315.
- Album, Stephen, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd Ed. Santa Rosa, Stephen Album Rare Coins, 2011.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 55, featuring Selections from the Swamperbob Gurney Collection of Cap & Ray 8 Reales, the Kenneth A. Bovenkamp Collection of Ottoman Coins and the 1914 Collection of World Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2026.
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